Whenever the amount of any tax has been overpaid or paid more than once or has been erroneously or illegally collected or received by the Tax Administrator under this subchapter from a service user or service supplier, it may be refunded as provided in this section.
(A) The Tax Administrator may refund any tax that has been overpaid or paid more than once or has been erroneously or illegally collected or received by the Tax Administrator under this subchapter from a service user or service supplier, provided that no refund shall be paid under the provisions of this section unless the claimant or his or her guardian, conservator, executor, or administrator has submitted a written claim to the Tax Administrator within one year of the overpayment or erroneous or illegal collection of said tax. Such claim must clearly establish claimant's right to the refund by written records showing entitlement thereto. Nothing herein shall permit the filing of a claim on behalf of a class or group of taxpayers unless each member of the class has submitted a written claim under penalty of perjury as provided by this section.
(B) The Tax Administrator, where the claim is less than the City Manager purchasing authority established in § 33.116(C)(2) of this code, or the City Council where the claim is in excess of that amount, shall act upon the refund claim within 45 days of the initial receipt of the refund claim. Said decision shall be final. If the Tax Administrator/City Council fails or refuses to act on a refund claim within the 45-day period, the claim shall be deemed to have been rejected by the Tax Administrator/City Council on the forty-fifth day. The Tax Administrator shall give notice of the action in a form which substantially complies with that set forth in Cal. Gov’t Code § 913.
(C) The filing of a written claim pursuant to Cal. Gov’t Code § 935 is a prerequisite to any suit thereon. Any action brought against the city pursuant to this section shall be subject to the provisions of Cal. Gov’t Code §§ 945.6 and 946.
(D) Notwithstanding the notice provisions of division (A) of this section, the Tax Administrator may, at his or her discretion, give written permission to a service supplier, who has collected and remitted any amount of tax in excess of the amount of tax imposed by this subchapter, to claim credit for such overpayment against the amount of tax which is due the city upon a subsequent monthly return(s) to the Tax Administrator, provided that:
(1) Such credit is claimed in a return dated no later than one year from the date of overpayment or erroneous collection of said tax;
(2) The Tax Administrator is satisfied that the underlying basis and amount of such credit has been reasonably established; and
(3) In the case of an overpayment by a service user to the service supplier that has been remitted to the city, the Tax Administrator has received proof, to his or her satisfaction, that the overpayment has been refunded by the service supplier to the service user in an amount equal to the requested credit.
(E) Notwithstanding divisions (A) though (D) above, a service supplier shall be entitled to take any overpayment as a credit against an underpayment whenever such overpayment has been received by the city within the three years next preceding a deficiency determination or assessment by the Tax Administrator in connection with an audit instituted by the Tax Administrator pursuant to § 34.166(D). A service supplier shall not be entitled to said credit unless it clearly establishes the right to the credit by written records showing entitlement thereto. Under no circumstances shall an overpayment taken as a credit against an underpayment pursuant to this section qualify a service supplier for a refund to which it would not otherwise be entitled under the one-year written claim requirement of this section.
(Ord. 1539, passed 7-16-08)