(A) The city shall not refund or credit any taxes voluntarily paid without written protest at the time of payment in the event that a locally imposed and administered tax is declared invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction. However, a taxpayer shall not be deemed to have paid the tax voluntarily if the taxpayer lacked knowledge of the facts upon which to protest the taxes at the time of payment or if the taxpayer paid the taxes under duress.
(B) All claims for credit or refund shall be made through notice to the local tax administrator filed with the City Clerk within one year after the end of the calendar year in which payment in error was made. Neither the city nor the local tax administrator shall grant a credit or refund of locally imposed and administered taxes, interest, or penalties to a person who has not paid the amounts directly to the city. The period of limitation provided in this subsection may be enlarged by the lesser of the maximum retrospective period for which the local tax administrator seeks to impose a tax under § 37.13(C) or four years.
(C) The procedure for claiming a credit or refund of locally imposed and administered taxes, interest or penalties paid in error shall be as follows:
(1) The taxpayer shall submit to the local tax administrator in a notice of claim for credit or refund together with a statement specifying:
(a) The name of the locally imposed and administered tax subject to the claim;
(b) The tax period for the locally imposed and administered tax subject to the claim;
(c) The date of the tax payment subject to the claim and the canceled check or receipt for the payment;
(d) The taxpayer's recalculation, accompanied by an amended or revised tax return, in connection with the claim; and
(e) A request for either a refund or a credit in connection with the claim to be applied to the amount of tax, interest and penalties overpaid, and, as applicable, related interest on the amount overpaid.
(2) No refund shall issue and only a credit shall be given in the event the taxpayer owes any monies to the city.
(3) Within 15 business days of the receipt by the local tax administrator of any notice of claim for a refund or credit, the local tax administrator shall either: grant the claim; or deny the claim, in whole or in part, together with a statement as to the reason for the denial or the partial grant and denial.
(4) In the event the local tax administrator grants, in whole or in part, a claim for refund or credit, the amount of the grant for refund or credit shall bear interest at the rate of 4% per annum, based on a year of 365 days and the number of days elapsed, from the date of the overpayment to the date of mailing of a refund check or the grant of a credit.
(Ord. 00-45, passed 1-23-01)