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Any tax required to be paid by any transient under the provisions of this article shall be deemed a debt owed by the transient to the City. Any such tax collected by an operator which has not been paid to the City shall be deemed a debt owed by the operator to the City. 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 such amount. Any operator who undertakes legal action to recover unpaid rent due from a transient may include the amount of tax due from the transient in the amount sought to be recovered.
(Added by Ord. No. 127,689, Eff. 7/20/64, Operative 8/1/64.)
Section
21.8.1 Definitions.
21.8.2 Tax Imposed.
21.8.3 Tax Paid to the Retailer.
21.8.4 Retailer Remits Quarterly.
21.8.5 Registration.
21.8.6 Penalties and Interest.
21.8.7 Additional Powers and Duties of Director of Finance, Etc.
21.8.8 Assessment – Administrative Remedy.
21.8.9 Records.
21.8.10 Refunds.
21.8.11 Actions to Collect.
(a) “Cigarette” means any roll for smoking, made wholly or in part of tobacco, irrespective of size or shape and irrespective of whether the tobacco is flavored, adulterated or mixed with any other ingredient where such roll has a wrapper or cover made of paper or any other material, except where such wrapper is wholly or in the greater part made of tobacco and such roll weighs over three pounds per thousand.
(b) “Use or consumption” includes the exercise of any right or power over cigarettes incident to the ownership thereof other than the sale of the cigarettes or the keeping or retention thereof for the purpose of sale.
(c) “Retailer” shall mean every person as defined in Sec. 21.00 of this chapter who sells cigarettes for any purpose other than resale. Where cigarettes are offered for sale through the means of a vending machine, the person holding title to the cigarettes in the machine shall be deemed the retailer.
(Amended by Ord. No. 135,144, Eff. 10/1/67.)
An excise is hereby imposed upon the use or consumption in the City of Los Angeles of cigarettes purchased from a retailer for use or consumption within the City of Los Angeles at the rate of one mill ($0.001) per cigarette on or after August 1,1964, and to and including September 30, 1966; and at the rate of two mills ($0.002) per cigarette thereafter to and including September 30, 1967. No excise shall be imposed under this section on or after the period commencing October 1, 1967.
* It is the intention of the City Council in adopting this ordinance to enable the City of Los Angeles to become eligible to participate in the distribution of funds derived from State-collected cigarette taxes as provided in Sec. 30462 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, as amended by Chapter 963, Statutes of 1967.
The tax constitutes a debt owed by the purchaser to the City which is extinguished only by payment of the tax to the Director of Finance or to the retailer. When a purchase from a retailer is made within the City the tax shall be paid to the retailer at the time the purchase price is paid. The tax collected or required to be collected by the retailer constitutes a debt owed by the retailer to the City. Should any remittance of tax be made by a retailer prior to sale of cigarettes to a consumer, such remittance shall be considered as an advance payment to be reimbursed by adding the amount of the tax to the price of the cigarettes at the time of sale to the user or consumer.
Each retailer selling cigarettes within the City of Los Angeles shall collect the tax imposed under Sec. 21.8.2 of this article, and on or before the last day of the month following the close of a calendar quarter remit the total amount so collected to the Director of Finance, together with a statement on a form provided by the Director of Finance showing the number of cigarettes sold to purchasers, the amount of tax collected, and such other information as the Director of Finance shall require. 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. The Director of Finance may establish shorter reporting periods for any retailer if the Director of Finance deems it necessary in order to insure collection of the tax. Statements and payments are due immediately upon cessation of the business of selling cigarettes for any reason. All taxes collected by retailers pursuant to this article shall be held in trust for the account of the City until payment thereof is made to the Director of Finance.
(a) Within 30 days after the operative date of this article, or within 30 days after commencing business, whichever is later, each retailer shall register with the Director of Finance and obtain from the Director a “Cigarette Tax Registration Certificate” to be at all times posted in a conspicuous place on the premises; provided, however, each retailer who does not operate from a fixed place of business shall keep the registration certificate upon their person at all times while engaging in the business of being a retailer. No person shall engage in the business of being a retailer without obtaining a registration certificate therefor. Said certificate shall, among other things, state the following:
1. The name of the operator;
2. The address of the retailer’s place of business;
3. The date upon which the certificate was issued;
4. “This Cigarette Tax Registration Certificate signifies that the person named on the face hereof has fulfilled the requirements of the Cigarette Tax Ordinance by registering with the Director of Finance for the purpose of collecting the Cigarette Tax from purchasers of cigarettes and remitting said tax to the Director of Finance. This certificate does not authorize any person to conduct any lawful business in an unlawful manner, nor to operate a cigarette retailing business without complying with all state and local applicable laws, including but not limited to those requiring a permit from any board commission, department or office of this City. This certificate does not constitute a permit.”
(b) All Cigarette Tax Registration Certificates shall be countersigned by the City Controller.
(c) A retailer having more than one place of business within the City at which cigarettes are sold shall be required to obtain a separate registration for each such place of business.
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