(A) Upon any person engaging or continuing within the city in any public service or utility business, except railroad, railroad car, express, pipeline, telephone and telegraph companies, water carriers by steamboat or steamship and motor carriers, there are levied, and shall be collected, taxes on account of the business engaged in equal to the gross income of the business multiplied by the respective rates as follows:
(1) Street and inter-urban and electric railways, 1%;
(2) Water companies, 4%, except as to income received by municipally owned water plants;
(3) Electric light and power companies, 4% on sales and demand charges for domestic and commercial lighting, and 3% on sales and demand charges for all other purposes, except as to income received by municipally owned plants producing or purchasing electricity and distributing same;
(4) Natural gas companies, 3% on the gross income, such gross income for this purpose to be determined by deducting from gross income from all sales of gas to consumers within the city the amount of tax paid by the taxpayer to the state under W.V. Code § 11-13-2d(4), as amended and in effect on January 1, 1959, on the production of the same gas;
(5) Toll bridge companies, 3%; and
(6) Upon all other public service or utility businesses, 2%.
(B) The measure of this tax shall not include gross income derived from commerce between this state and other states of the United States or between this state and foreign countries.
(Ord. 1276, passed 6-29-00)