A. 1. There is imposed a tax upon every person in the city other than a gas corporation or electrical corporation, using, in the city, gas which is transmitted through mains or pipes. The tax imposed by this section shall be at the rate of eight percent of the charges made for the gas and shall be billed to and paid by the person using the gas.
2. The tax applicable to gas or gas transportation provided by non-utility suppliers shall be determined by applying the tax rate to the equivalent charges the service user would have incurred if the gas or gas transportation had been provided by the gas corporation franchised by the city. “Charges,” as used in this section shall include charges made for: (a) that billed for gas which is delivered through mains or pipes; (b) gas transportation charges; and (c) demand charges, service charges, customer charges, minimum charges, annual and monthly charges and any other charge authorized by the California Public Utilities Commission or the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
B. The tax otherwise imposed by this section is not applicable to: (1) charges made for gas which is to be resold and delivered through mains and pipes; (2) charges made for gas used and consumed by a public utility or governmental agency in the conduct of its business; or (3) charges made by a gas public utility for gas used and consumed in the course of its public utility business; and (4) charges made for gas used in the propulsion of a motor vehicle, as authorized in the Vehicle Code of the state of California.
C. The tax imposed in this section shall be collected from the service user by the person selling or transporting the gas. A person selling only transportation services to a user for delivery of gas through mains or pipes shall collect the tax from the service user based on the transportation charges. The person selling or transporting the gas shall, on or before the twentieth of each calendar month, commencing on the twentieth day of the calendar month after the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter, make a return to the tax administrator stating the amount of taxes billed during the preceding calendar month. At the time such returns are filed, the person selling or transporting the gas shall remit tax payments to the tax administrator in accordance with the schedules established or approved by the tax administrator. The tax imposed in this section on use supplied by self-production or a non-utility supplier not subject to the jurisdiction of this chapter shall be collected and remitted to the tax administrator in the manner set forth in Section 3.26.070. (Ord. 98-104, Exh. A § 2(part), 1998).