Loading...
(Amended by Ord. No. 142,333, Eff. 9/30/71, Oper. 10/1/71.)
(a) There is hereby imposed a tax upon every person in the City of Los Angeles using electrical energy in the City of Los Angeles. The tax imposed by this section shall be at the rate of 10 percent of the charges made for such energy and shall be paid by the person paying for such energy, provided, however, that commercial or industrial users of electrical energy shall be subject to tax and a tax is hereby imposed upon them at the rate of 12.5 percent of the charges made for such energy, but as to any non-profit educational institution, as defined in Subdivision 3 of Subsection (c) of Section 21.190 of this Code, the tax imposed by this section shall be at the rate of 10 percent of the charges made for such energy. (Second Sentence Amended by Ord. No. 171,436, Eff. 1/10/97.) “Charges” as used in this section, shall include charges made for (1) metered energy, and (2) minimum charges for service, including customer charges, service charges, demand charges, standby charges, and annual and monthly charges.
The term “commercial or industrial users” as used in this section, is intended to include, but shall not be limited to, any person who qualifies as a “commercial or industrial” consumer of electrical energy within the electric rate schedules of the Department of Water and Power of the City of Los Angeles or the tariff schedules of the Southern California Edison company, provided however, a user of electrical energy shall not be considered a “commercial or industrial user” of any electrical energy supplied to a single family accommodation separately metered or for energy to two or more individual family accommodations supplied as a unit, upon application under the provisions of the Department’s Domestic Service Schedule D–1, devoted primarily to domestic, residential, household and related purposes, as distinguished from commercial, professional, and industrial purposes.
(b) As used in this section, the term “using electrical energy” shall not be construed to mean that storage of such energy by a person in a battery owned or possessed by the person for use in an automobile or other machinery or device apart from the premises upon which the energy was received, provided however, that the term shall include the receiving of such energy for the purpose of using it in the charging of batteries, nor shall the term include the mere receiving of such energy by an electric public utility or government agency at a point within the City of Los Angeles for resale. (Amended by Ord. No. 135,276, Eff. 10/30/67.)
(c) The tax imposed in this section shall be collected from the service user by the person supplying such energy. The amount of tax collected from the 26th day of each month through the 25th day of the following month shall be remitted to the Director of Finance on or before the 26th day of such following month, or, at the option of the person required to collect and remit the tax, an estimated amount of tax collected in each month shall be remitted to the Director of Finance on or before the 26th day of such month. (Amended by Ord. No. 156,573, Eff. 5/10/82)
(a) (Amended by Ord. No. 169,245, Eff. 1/15/94.) There is hereby imposed a tax upon every person in the City of Los Angeles using in the City gas which is delivered through mains or pipes. The tax imposed by this section shall be at the rate of 10 percent of the charges made for such gas and shall be paid by the person paying for such gas, provided, however, that as to any non-profit educational institution, as defined in subdivision 3 of Subsection (c) of Section 21.190 of this Code, the tax imposed by this section shall be at the rate of 5 percent of the charges made for such gas. (Second Sentence Amended by Ord. No. 171,436, Eff. 1/10/97.) When gas is transported by, but not purchased from, a transporter, the charges subject to tax shall be measured by (1) the transportation cost and (2) the cost of the transported gas, which shall be based on the volume of gas transported multiplied by the core subscription weighted average cost of gas for the calendar month immediately preceding the calendar month in which the billing period terminates.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the tax on the cost of transported gas may be determined by applying the tax rate to the actual purchase cost, either by the service user applying to the Director of Finance for a refund or the Director of Finance billing the service user, for the amount which represents the difference between the tax paid by the service user to the transporter and the tax determined by the actual purchase cost of the gas. In a claim for refund, the service user shall provide the Director of Finance with satisfactory evidence of the quantity and cost of the gas purchased from a party other than the transporter. When the Director of Finance believes that direct collection of the tax from the service user is in the best interest of the City, as provided in Subsection (b) of Section 21.1.10 of this Code, the transporter, upon request from the Director of Finance, shall furnish the Director of Finance, with respect to each service user for whom gas is transported, the name, mailing address, service address, gas meter number, transportation cost, volume of gas transported and the core subscription weighted average cost of gas for the calendar month immediately preceding the calendar month in which the billing period terminates. This information shall be confidential and shall be used only for the purpose of administering the tax.
(b) There shall be excluded from the base on which the tax imposed in this section is computed charges made for gas which is to be resold and delivered through main or pipes, charges made for gas sold for use in the generation of electrical energy by a public utility or a governmental agency; and charges made by a gas public utility for gas used and consumed in the conduct of the business of as public utilities. (Amended by Ord. No. 135,276, Eff. 10/30/67.)
(c) The tax imposed in this section shall be collected from the service user by the person selling gas or, when gas is purchased from and transported by separate persons, the tax shall be collected by the transporter. (1st Sentence Amended by Ord. No. 169,245, Eff. 1/15/94.) The amount of tax collected from the 26th day of each month through the 25th day of the following month shall be remitted to the Director of Finance on or before the 26th day of such following month, or, at the option of the person required to collect and remit the tax, an estimated amount of tax collected, measured by the billings of the previous month, shall be remitted to the Director of Finance on or before the 26th day of each month. (Amended by Ord. No. 156,573, Eff. 5/10/82.)
(d) There shall be exempt from the base on which the tax imposed in this section is computed charges made for gas used for non-utility purposes. For the purposes of this subsection, the term “gas used for non-utility purposes” shall mean gas used as a raw material in a manufactured product, and shall exclude gas used to produce light, heat or power. Any service user claiming an exemption under this subsection shall file an application with the Director of Finance for such exemption. Such application shall be made upon forms supplied by the Director of Finance and shall recite under oath facts which qualify the applicant for an exemption. The Director of Finance shall review each such application, certify as exempt such service determined to qualify therefor and notify each affected service supplier that such exemption has been approved, stating the name of the applicant, the address to which such exempt service is being supplied, the account number, if any, and such other information as may be necessary for the service supplier to remove the exempt service from the tax billing procedure. Upon receipt of such notice, the service supplier shall not be required to continue to bill any further tax imposed by this section for such exempt service until given further notice by the Director of Finance. (Added by Ord. No. 171,119, Eff. 7/21/96, Oper. 1/1/96.)
(e) Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection (a) of this section and Section 21.1.8(b) of this article, the collection rate of the tax imposed in Subsection (a) of this section at the rate of 10 percent shall be reduced temporarily for residential users to 6 percent for the first four regular billing periods ending on or after December 1, 2001, and on or before April 15, 2002. For all subsequent regular billing periods, the collection rate for residential users shall revert to the 10 percent rate imposed in Subsection (a) of this section. (Added by Ord. No. 174,205, Eff. 9/29/01.)
(f) Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection (a) of this section and Section 21.1.8(b) of this article, the collection rate of tax imposed in Subsection (a) of this section shall be reduced temporarily to abate a total amount of gas user taxes of $24,174,176.69. To effectuate this abatement, the rate set forth in Subsection (a) of this section shall be lowered temporarily to a rate of 9.91% of the charges made within the meaning of Subsection (a); provided, however, that as to any non-profit educational institution, as defined in Section 21.49(c)3.(iii) of this Code, the collection rate of tax imposed by this section shall be lowered temporarily to a rate of 4.46%. The amount abated is the difference between the taxes that would be collected pursuant to the rates set forth in Subsection (a) and the taxes that would be collected pursuant to the rates set forth in this Subsection (f). The rates set forth in this Subsection (f) shall apply to all charges for gas within the meaning of Subsection (a) of this section collected, following the completion of the abatement attributable to Lavinsky v. City of Los Angeles, through the earlier of July 1, 2026, or the first day of the first month after which the City has abated taxes equal to or exceeding $24,174,176.69, whichever date occurs first (Abatement Period). Should this subsection fail to abate an amount equal to $24,174,176.69 in taxes by July 1, 2026, the Abatement Period shall be extended until the first month after July 1, 2026 after which the City has abated taxes equal to or exceeding $24,174,176.69. The rates set forth in Subsection (a) of this section shall apply to all periods except for the Abatement Period described under this Subsection (f). The person selling gas or transporter shall not be liable for failing to collect the difference between the tax rate set forth in Subsection (a) of this section and the tax rate set forth in this Subsection (f) until 60 days after the required notice is provided. (Added by Ord. No. 188,223, Eff. 6/16/24.)
(a) Taxes collected from a service user which are not remitted to the Director of Finance on or before the due dates provided in this article are delinquent.
(b) interest and penalties for delinquency in remittance of any tax collected, or any deficiency determination shall attach and be paid by the person required to collect and remit at the rates and in the same manner as is provided in Sec. 21.05 of this chapter for delinquency in payment of Business Tax.
(c) The Director of Finance shall have power to impose additional penalties upon persons required to collect and remit taxes under the provisions of this article for fraud and negligence in reporting and remitting in the same manner and at the same rates as are provided in Sec. 21.05 of this chapter for such penalties upon persons required to pay Business Tax.
(d) (Amended by Ord. No. 174,085, Eff. 8/19/01.) For collection purposes only, every penalty imposed and such interest as accrues under the provisions of this section shall become a part of the tax herein required to be remitted.
(Amended by Ord. No. 179,686*, Eff. 3/15/08.)
Any tax required to be paid by a Service User under the provisions of this article shall be deemed a debt owed by the Service User to the City. Any such tax collected from a Service User, which has not been remitted to the Director of Finance, shall be deemed a debt owed to the City by the Person required to collect and remit. Any Person owing money to the City under the provisions of this article shall be liable to an action brought in the name of the City for the recovery of that amount. In the event that a service supplier required to collect and remit a tax under the provisions of this article fails to do so in whole or in part, the amount of the unremitted tax shall be deemed a debt owed by the service supplier to the City.
* Note: Pursuant to the passage of Proposition S in a Special Election held on February 5, 2008, Ordinance No. 179,686 was adopted by the Council of the City of Los Angeles at its meeting of March 5, 2008.
(Amended by Ord. No. 179,686*, Eff. 3/15/08.)
The duty to collect and remit the taxes imposed by this article shall be performed as set forth in this section.
(a) The tax shall be collected insofar as practicable at the same time as and along with the charges made in accordance with the regular billing practice. If the amount paid by a Service User is less than the full amount of the charge and tax that has accrued for the billing period, a proportionate share of both the charge and the tax shall be deemed to have been paid.
(b) The duty to collect tax from a Service User shall commence with the beginning of the first regular billing period applicable to that Person, which starts on or after the operative date of this article. When the rate of the tax is increased or decreased, the duty to collect at the new rate shall commence with the beginning of the first regular billing periods applicable to that Person, which starts on or after the effective date of the new rate. Where a Person receives more than one billing, one or more being for different periods than another, the duty to collect shall arise separately for each billing period.
* Note: Pursuant to the passage of Proposition S in a Special Election held on February 5, 2008, Ordinance No. 179,686 was adopted by the Council of the City of Los Angeles at its meeting of March 5, 2008.
(Amended by Ord. No. 179,686*, Eff. 3/15/08.)
(a) The Director of Finance shall have the power and duty, and is hereby directed to enforce all of the provisions of this article.
(b) In administering and enforcing the provisions of this article, the Director of Finance shall have the same powers and duties with respect to collecting the tax provided in this article as the Director of Finance has under Section 21.15 of this chapter with respect to collecting the Business Tax.
(d) The Director of Finance may, from time to time, issue and disseminate administrative agreements or rulings identifying those services or Persons that are subject to the requirements imposed by this article, deferring implementation or enforcement of requirements imposed by this article or interpreting the provisions of this article. These administrative rulings shall be consistent with federal, state and local law. To the extent that the Director of Finance, or the City Attorney pursuant to Section 21.31, determines that the tax imposed under this article shall not be collected in full for any period of time from any particular service suppliers or Service Users, that determination shall be considered an exercise of the Director’s discretion to settle disputes and shall not constitute a change in taxing methodology for purposes of Government Code section 53750 or otherwise. Neither the Director of Finance nor the City Attorney is authorized to amend the City’s methodology for purposes of Government Code section 53750 and the City does not waive or abrogate its ability to impose the communications users tax in full as a result of promulgating administrative rulings or entering into agreements.
* Note: Pursuant to the passage of Proposition S in a Special Election held on February 5, 2008, Ordinance No. 179,686 was adopted by the Council of the City of Los Angeles at its meeting of March 5, 2008.
(Amended by Ord. No. 136,861, Eff. 8/19/68.)
(a) The Director of Finance may make an assessment for taxes not remitted by a person required to remit for any reason specified in Sec. 21.16 of this chapter for making an assessment for unpaid Business Tax. The manner of making and providing notice of such assessment; the right to a hearing and the conduct of such hearing; the preparation and service of findings; filing exceptions; and passing upon exceptions shall be the same as provided in Sec. 21.16 of this chapter.
(b) Whenever the Director of Finance determines that a service user has deliberately withheld the amount of the tax owed by the service user from the amounts remitted to a person required to collect the tax, or that a service user has failed to pay the amount of the tax to such person for a period of two or more billing periods, or whenever the Director of Finance deems it in the best interests of the City, the Director of Finance may relieve such person of the obligation to collect taxes due under this article from certain named service users for specified billing periods. The Office of Finance shall notify the service user that the service user has assumed responsibility to collect the taxes due for the stated periods and demand payment of such taxes. (Sentence Amended by Ord. No. 173,587, Eff. 12/7/00.) The notice shall be served on the service user by handing it to the service user personally or by deposit of the notice in the United States mail, postage prepaid thereon, addressed to the service user at the address to which billing was made by the person required to collect the tax; or, should the service user have changed their address, to the service user’s last known address. If a service user fails to remit the tax to the Director of Finance within fifteen days from the date of the service of the notice upon the service user, which shall be the date of mailing if service is not accomplished in person, a penalty of twenty-five percent of the amount of the tax set forth in the notice shall be imposed, but not less than $5.00. The penalty shall become part of the tax herein required to be paid.
Loading...