(a) Imposition and Rate of Sales Tax. (Reenacted, Amended by Ord. No. 137,130, Oper. 10/1/68) For the privilege of selling tangible personal property at retail a tax is hereby imposed, in addition to any other tax imposed under this article or under this chapter, upon all retailers at the rate of one percent of the gross receipts of any retailer from the sale of all tangible personal property sold at retail in the City of Los Angeles on or after October 1, 1968, and to and including March 31, 1969.
Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this subsection, the tax imposed by this section shall not apply to selling tangible personal property at fixed prices agreed to in contracts executed in good faith prior to October 1, 1968.
For the purposes of this section, all retail sales are consummated at the place of business of the retailer unless the tangible personal property sold is delivered by the retailer or the retailer’s agent to an out-of-state destination, or to a common carrier for delivery to an out-of-state destination. The gross receipts from sales shall include delivery charges when such charges are subject to the sales and use tax imposed by the State of California, regardless of the place to which delivery is made. In the event a retailer having a place of business within the City also has a place of business outside the City, both of which participate in some degree in a particular sale, the sale shall be deemed to have occurred within the City of Los Angeles if the principal negotiations were carried on there or by personnel normally assigned to that place of business. In the event a retailer has no permanent place of business in the City, but nevertheless engages in selling tangible personal property in the City, the sales shall be deemed to have occurred within the City if the sales were solicited or otherwise promoted by the seller or the seller’s agent within the City and the seller or the seller’s agent delivered the property within the City to a purchaser or to the purchaser’s agent.
(b) Reimbursement. The retailer shall reimburse themself for the tax due from the consumer substantially in accordance with the following table up to the amount specified herein:
1 %
Price | Tax | ||
.01 | - | .49 | .00 |
.50 | - | 1.49 | .01 |
1.50 | - | 2.49 | .02 |
2.50 | - | 3.49 | .03 |
3.50 | - | 4.49 | .04 |
4.50 | - | 5.49 | .05 |
5.50 | - | 6.49 | .06 |
6.50 | - | 7.49 | .07 |
7.50 | - | 8.49 | .08 |
8.50 | - | 9.49 | .09 |
9.50 | - | 10.49 | .10 |
The remainder of the schedule shall show amounts of reimbursement computed by applying the applicable tax rate to the sales price, rounded off to the nearest cent by eliminating any fraction less than one–half cent and increasing any fraction of one–half cent or over to the next higher cent.
(c) Unlawful Advertising. It is unlawful for any retailer to advertise or hold out or state to the public or to any customer, directly or indirectly that the tax or any part thereof will be assumed or absorbed by the retailer or that it will not be added to the selling price of the property sold, or that, if added, it or any part thereof will be refunded.
(d) Tax Levied as State Sales & Use Tax Law. The tax hereby levied, except as otherwise provided, is levied in the same manner, to the same extent and under the same conditions as sales taxes are levied pursuant to Part 1 of Division 2 of the California Revenue and Taxation Code, known as the “Sales and Use Tax Law,” as amended and in force and effect on October 1, 1968.
(e) Extension of Time; Due Date: Penalties. The Director of Finance, for good cause, may extend for not more than 45 days the time for making any return or paying any sum required to be paid hereunder. The extension may be granted at any time provided a written request therefor is filed with the Director of Finance prior to the delinquency date.
All taxes payable monthly and all taxes payable quarterly hereunder shall be deemed delinquent if not paid on or before the close of business on the last day of the month following the monthly or quarterly period for which the tax is payable. Taxes payable hereunder for periods other than monthly or quarterly periods shall be deemed delinquent at the times designated by the Director of Finance in the Director’s rules and regulations. Whenever tax required to be paid by this section is not paid on or before the date on which it becomes delinquent, penalties and interest shall accrue and deficiency determinations shall be made in the manner provided in Sec. 21.05 and Sec. 21.15.
Each retailer shall, on or before the last day of the month following the close of each calendar quarter, make a statement to the Director of Finance on forms provided by the Director, of the total gross receipts received during the preceding quarter. At the time the statement is filed, the full amount of tax due shall be paid to the Director of Finance. Where the Director of Finance determines that efficiency in the administration of the tax would be promoted, the Director of Finance may establish reporting periods greater than quarterly, but not to exceed one year, for retailers who sell tangible personal property only occasionally or seasonally. The Director of Finance may establish shorter reporting periods for any retailer if the Director of Finance deems it necessary in order to insure connection of the tax and the Director of Finance may require further information in the statement. Statements and payments are due immediately upon cessation of business for any reason.
In addition to the powers of the Director of Finance mentioned in the foregoing paragraphs, the Director of Finance may, under circumstances set forth in Subsection (j) of this section require prepayment of taxes.
(f) Registration; Permits. Every person desiring to engage in or conduct business as a seller within the City of Los Angeles shall secure from the Director of Finance of said City a permit for each place of business. Such permits shall be issued by the Director of Finance upon receipt of a written application therefor setting forth the name under which the applicant transacts or intends to transact business, the location of the applicant’s place or places of business and such other information as the Director of Finance may require. A permit is not assignable and is valid only for the person in whose name it is issued and for the transaction of business at the place designated therein. A change of location may be endorsed upon the permit by the Director of Finance. The permit shall at all times be conspicuously displayed at the place for which issued.
(g) Revocation of Permit; Renewal of Permit. Whenever any person fails to comply with any provision of this section or any rule or regulation adopted pursuant hereto, the Director of Finance, upon hearing, after giving such person ten days’ notice in writing specifying the time and place of hearing and requiring the person to show cause why the person’s permit or permits should not be revoked, may revoke or suspend any one or more of the permits held by such person. The notice may be served personally or by mail in the manner prescribed for service of notice in Sec. 11.00(i) or in Sec. 21.16 of this Code. The Director of Finance shall not issue a new permit unless the Director of Finance is satisfied that the former holder of the permit will thereafter comply with the provisions of this section and the rules and regulations adopted hereunder.
(h) Selling Without Permit. A person who engages in business as a seller in the City without a permit or permits, or after a permit has been suspended, and each officer of any corporation which so engages in business is guilty of a misdemeanor.
(i) Violation of Ordinance. The Director of Finance may at the Director’s option accept a State of California Resale Certificate as evidence that any sale is not a sale at retail, or the Director of Finance may in the Director’s discretion require an affidavit from the seller setting forth such information respecting such sale as the Director of Finance deems necessary to determine the nature of such sale.
(j) State Resale Certificate Optional. All provisions of the Sales and Use Tax Law, Part 1, Division 2 of the Revenue and Tax Code of the State of California, as amended and in force and effect on October 1, 1968, except the provisions pertaining solely to the Use Tax and Sections 6051, 6052, 6052.5, 6053, 6066, 6067, 6068, 6069, 6070, 6071, 6072, 6271 to 6292 inclusive, 6451, 6459, 6470, 6481 to 6592, inclusive, 6701 to 6799, inclusive, 6826 to 6828, inclusive, 6901 to 6937, inclusive, 6961 to 6963, inclusive, 6981, 7051 to 7056, inclusive, 7057, 7101 to 7154, inclusive, and 7176 applicable to sales of property at retail, are hereby adopted and made a part of this section as though fully set forth herein and all provisions of this Code conflict therewith are inapplicable to this section and the tax hereby imposed. All of the provisions of the California Sales and Use Tax Law hereby adopted, providing for the performance of official action on the part of the State Board of Equalization shall be performed by the Director of Finance of the City of Los Angeles.
(k) Sections of State Law Adopted by Reference; Suit for Collection of Tax. The term “gross receipts” as used herein does not include (l) the amount of any federal tax imposed upon or with respect to retail sales, whether imposed upon the retailer or upon the consumer, and regardless of whether or not the amount of federal tax is stated to customers as a separate charge; and (2) the amount of any California State or local Sales or Use Tax.
(l) Gross Receipts Defined. In addition to the exemptions contained in Part 1 of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code of the State of California, there shall be excluded from the computation of the tax gross receipts from;
1. Sales of property which is shipped to a point outside this City pursuant to the contract of sale by delivery by the retailer to such a point by means of (A) facilities operated by the retailer; (B) delivery by the retailed to a carrier for shipment to a consignee at such point; or (C) delivery by the retailer to a customs broker or forwarding agent for shipment outside this City.
(m) Administration of Ordinance; Rules and Regulations. The Director of Finance shall administer and enforce the provisions of this section and, with the approval of the City Attorney, shall prescribe, adopt and enforce reasonable rules and regulations for the purpose of administering and enforcing the section. Each of said rules and regulations which relate to the time, form and manner of making returns and payments of the taxes imposed hereby shall govern, notwithstanding any other provision of this article to the contrary. Such rules and regulations, among other things, require each retailer to keep such records, receipts, invoices and other pertinent papers in the manner therein set forth.
Inasmuch as this section is patterned after the Sales Tax provisions of the Revenues and Taxation Code of the State of California, and the State Board of Equalization has made various rules and regulations pertaining to the interpretation, administration and enforcement of said provisions of the Revenue and Taxation Code, and it may be reasonably assumed that the City of Los Angeles will be confronted with many of the problems dealt with in the state rules and regulations, each such rule and regulation, in so far as applicable, shall apply in the interpretation of this section until specifically abandoned by rules and regulations adopted by the Director of Finance pursuant to the authority of this section.
(n) Inclusion of Portion of State Law. The inclusion of any clause, portion or part of the State Sales and Use Tax Law, Part 1, Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code of the State of California, verbatim in this section shall not in or of itself be deemed to exclude any of the remaining provisions of said Sales and Use Tax Law that are made a part hereof by reference only.
(z) Validity of Ordinance. If any subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion of this section, including but not limited to any exemption, is, for any reason, held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this section. The Council of this City hereby declares that it would have adopted this section and each subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more subsections, clauses, phrases or portions be declared invalid or unconstitutional.