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There is hereby imposed and levied upon every purchaser of a public utility service an excise tax upon the privilege of purchasing, using or consuming, within the corporate limits of the city, such public utility service. Such tax shall be in the amount of 2% of the charge, exclusive of any federal or state tax thereon imposed upon the purchaser, made by the seller against the purchaser with respect to each public utility service, which tax, in every case, shall be collected by the seller and paid by the purchaser upon the amount of each periodic statement rendered such purchaser by the seller, and shall be paid by the purchaser to the seller at the time the purchase price or such charge shall become due and payable under the agreement between the purchaser and the seller. The tax imposed and levied by this subchapter is in addition to all other taxes imposed and levied by this city. In the event the amount of the charge for any single public utility service exceeds an amount set by Council from time to time in any given calendar month to any single purchaser, no tax shall be imposed for such additional purchase, use or consumption in excess of an amount set by Council from time to time. In the event more than one public utility shall furnish the identical public utility service to the same purchaser, the purchaser shall be entitled to group such services as a single public utility service in calculating the amount of the charges in any calendar month for such public utility service.
(1991 Code, § 15-2) (Ord. passed 5-3-1971)
It shall be the duty of every seller, in acting as the tax-collecting medium or agency for the city, to collect from each purchaser for the use of the city the tax hereby imposed and levied at the time of collecting the purchase price charged for its public utility service, and the amount of tax actually collected during each calendar month shall be reported by each seller to the city, and each seller shall remit the amount of tax shown by such report to have been collected by the city on or before the last day of the second calendar month following the month in which collected, as well as the name and address of any purchaser who has failed or refused to pay the tax so imposed and levied. The required reports shall be in the form prescribed by the City Collector and Treasurer.
(1991 Code, § 15-3) (Ord. passed 5-3-1971)
Every seller shall maintain complete records showing all purchases of public utility service within the corporate limits of the city, which records shall show the charge made against each purchaser, the dates such public utility service was furnished, the date of payment therefor and the amount of tax imposed hereunder, and such records shall be kept open for inspection by the duly authorized agents of the city at reasonable times, and the duly authorized agents of the city shall have the right, power and authority to make, at the expense of the city, such transcripts thereof during such times as they may desire.
(1991 Code, § 15-4) (Ord. passed 5-3-1971)
The tax hereby imposed and levied shall not apply to the following transactions, which transactions are hereby exempted from such tax:
(A) Purchases of public utility service for resale;
(B) Purchases of public utility service by the United States of America, the state and the political subdivisions, municipalities, boards, commissions, authorities and public corporations thereof;
(C) Purchases of tangible personal property, such as appliances, as distinguished from the public service supplied;
(D) Charges for telephone services which are paid by the insertion of coins into coin-operated telephones and specific charges or tolls for telephone calls to points outside the corporate limits of the city; and
(E) Nonrecurring charges incidental to the furnishing of public utility service.
(1991 Code, § 15-5) (Ord. passed 5-3-1971)
(A) (1) There shall be no liability upon the seller for erroneously collecting the tax hereby imposed and levied or for erroneously failing to bill for such tax as a result of a good-faith mistake on the part of the seller.
(2) When any purchaser contends that such tax is not owed by such purchaser on the ground that the public utility service was not purchased, used or consumed within the corporate limits of the city, the seller shall refer the question to the City Collector and Treasurer, and such seller shall thereafter collect or refrain from collecting such tax from such purchaser for such public utility service, as instructed, in writing, by such city officer.
(3) Any claim for refunds of any such tax shall be presented to the city and not to the seller.
(B) The City Collector and Treasurer shall have the authority to promulgate and enforce reasonable rules and regulations necessary for the administration and enforcement of this chapter.
(1991 Code, § 15-6) (Ord. passed 5-3-1971)
Any amount of tax due and unpaid under this subchapter shall be a debt due the city. Such debt shall be a personal obligation of the purchaser, which shall be enforceable as provided by W.Va. Code § 8-13-15, or in any other manner provided by law for compelling the payment of taxes due municipalities.
(1991 Code, § 15-7) (Ord. passed 5-3-1971) Penalty, see § 36.99
The tax hereby imposed and levied shall not be effective until the city gives 60 days’ written notice by certified mail of the effective date of this chapter to any public utility doing business within the city, which is required to collect the tax imposed and levied hereby.
(1991 Code, § 15-8) (Ord. passed 5-3-1971)
Statutory reference:
Authority of city to levy and collect an excise tax on the privilege of purchasing, using or consuming public utility services and tangible personal property from public utilities and the like, see W.Va. Code § 8-13-5a
HOTEL/MOTEL TAX
There is hereby imposed a tax upon the occupancy of hotel rooms located within the city including, but not limited to, hotels owned by the state or any political subdivision of the state.
(Ord. 097-01, passed 2-4-1997; Ord. 064, passed 10-18-2007; Ord. 180, passed 9-4-2014)
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