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Earlier editions: 2026-09

Chapter 21 — TAXATION

Butte County Municipal Code Art. II Sales and Use Tax

Butte County Municipal Code · 2026-10 edition · updated 2026-10-04 · Butte County

Cite as: Butte County Municipal Code Article II · Text as of 2026-10-04

Footnotes:

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Editor's note— Although not specifically repealed, Art. II, §§ 21-2—21-17.5, has been deleted as superseded by § 1—10 of Ord. No. 2645, adopted Nov. 17, 1987. The article was formerly derived from Ord. Nos. 564, 731, 1258, 1408, 2382 and 2388.

Case Law annotation— For case holding sales tax ordinance not subject to referendum, see Geiger v. Board of Supervisors, 48 Cal. App. 2d 832, 313 P. 2d 545 (1957).

21-2 - Title.

This article shall be known as the Butte County Uniform Local Sales and Use Tax Ordinance.

(Ord. No. 2645, § 1, 11-17-87)

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21-3 - Purpose.

The Board of Supervisors of the County of Butte hereby declares that this article is adopted to achieve the following, among other, purposes, and directs that the provisions hereof be interpreted in order to accomplish those purposes:

(a) To adopt a sales and use tax ordinance which complies with the requirements and limitations contained in part 1.5 of division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code of the State of California;

(b) To adopt a sales and use tax ordinance which incorporates provisions identical to those of the Sales and Use Tax Law of the State of California insofar as those provisions are not inconsistent with the requirements and limitations contained in part 1.5 of division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code;

(c) To adopt a sales and use tax ordinance which imposes a one and one-quarter (1¼) percent tax and provides a measure therefor that can be administered and collected by the state board of equalization in a manner that adapts itself as fully as practicable to, and requires the least possible deviation from, the existing statutory and administrative procedures followed by the state board of equalization in administering and collecting the California state sales and use taxes;

(d) To adopt a sales and use tax ordinance which can be administered in a manner that will, to the degree possible, be consistent with the provisions of part 1.5 of division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, minimize the cost of collecting county sales and use taxes, and at the same time minimize the burden of record keeping upon persons subject to taxation under the provisions of this article.

(Ord. No. 2645, § 2; 11-17-87)

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21-4 - Operative date.

This article shall become operative on January 1, 1988.

(Ord. No. 2645; § 3, 11-17-87)

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21-5 - Sales tax imposed; exemptions.

(a) For the privilege of selling tangible personal property at retail, a tax is hereby imposed upon all retailers in the county at the rate of one and one-quarter (1¼) percent of the gross receipts of the retailer from the sale of all tangible personal property sold at retail in the County of Butte.

(b) For the purposes of this article, all retail sales are consummated at the place of business of the retailer unless the tangible personal property sold is delivered by the retailer or his agent to an out-of-state destination or to a common carrier for delivery to an out-of-state destination. Delivery charges shall be included in the gross receipts by which the tax is measured, regardless of the place to which delivery is made, when such charges are included in the measure of the sales or use tax imposed by the State of California. In the event a retailer has no permanent place of business in the State of California, or has more than one (1) place of business, the place or places at which retail sales are consummated shall be as determined under rules and regulations prescribed and adopted by the board of equalization.

(1) Except as hereinafter provided, and except insofar as they are inconsistent with the provisions of part 1.5 of division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code of the State of California, all of the provisions of part 1 of division 2 of said Code, as amended and in force and effect on January 1, 1988, applicable to sales taxes, are hereby adopted and made a part of this section as though fully set forth herein.

(2) Wherever, and to the extent that, in part 1 of division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code the State of California is named or referred to as the taxing agency, the County of Butte shall be substituted therefor. Nothing in this subdivision shall be deemed to require the substitution of the name of the County of Butte for the word "state" when that word is used as part of the title of the state controller, state treasurer, the state board of control, the state board of equalization, or the name of the state treasury, or of the Constitution of the State of California; nor shall the name of the county be substituted for that of the state in any section when the result of that substitution would require action to be taken by or against the county or any agency thereof, rather than by or against the state board of equalization, in performing the functions incident to the administration or operation of this article; and neither shall the substitution be deemed to have been made in those sections, including, but not necessarily limited to, sections referring to the exterior boundaries of the State of California, where the result of the substitution would be to provide an exemption from this tax with respect to certain gross receipts which would not otherwise be exempt from this tax while those gross receipts remain subject to tax by the state under the provisions of part 1 of division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code; nor to impose this tax with respect to certain gross receipts which would not be subject to tax by the state under the provisions of that Code; and, in addition, the name of the county shall not be substituted for that of the state in sections 6701, 6702, except in the last sentence thereof, 6711, 6715, 6737, 6797 and 6828 of the Revenue and Taxation Code as adopted; and the name of the county shall not be substituted for the word "state" in the phrase "retailer engaged in business in this state" in section 6203 nor in the definition of that phrase in section 6203.

(3) If a seller's permit has been issued to a retailer under section 6067 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, an additional seller's permit shall not be required by reason of this section.

(4) There shall be excluded from the gross receipts by which the tax is measured:

(i) The amount of any sales or use tax imposed by the State of California upon a retailer or consumer.

(ii) Eighty (80) percent of the gross receipts from the sale of property to operators of common carriers and waterborne vessels to be used or consumed in the operation of such common carriers or waterborne vessels principally outside of this county.

(Ord. No. 2645, § 4, 11-17-87)

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21-6 - Use tax imposed; exemptions.

(a) An excise tax is hereby imposed on the storage, use or other consumption in the County of Butte of tangible personal property purchased from any retailer on or after January 1, 1988, for storage, use or other consumption in the county at the rate of one and one-quarter (1¼) percent. The sales price shall include delivery charges when such charges are subject to state sales or use tax regardless of the place of which delivery is made.

(b) (1)

Except as hereinafter provided, and except insofar as they are inconsistent with the provisions of part 1.5 of division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code of the State of California, all of the provisions of part 1 of division 2 of said Code, as amended and in force and effect on January 1, 1988, applicable to use taxes, are hereby adopted and made a part of this section as though fully set forth herein.

(2) Wherever, and to the extent that, in part 1 of division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code the State of California is named or referred to as the taxing agency, the name of this county shall be substituted therefor. Nothing in this subdivision shall be deemed to require the substitution of the name of this county for the word "state" when that word is used as part of the title of the state controller, state treasurer, the state board of control, the state board of equalization, or the name of the state treasury, or of the Constitution of the State of California; nor shall the name of the county be substituted for that of the state in any section when the result of that substitution would require action to be taken by or against the county or any agency thereof rather than by or against the state board of equalization, in performing the functions incident to the administration or operation of this article; and neither shall the substitution be deemed to have been made in those sections, including but not necessarily limited to, sections referring to the exterior boundaries of the State of California, where the result of the substitution would be to provide an exemption from this tax with respect to certain storage, use or other consumption of tangible personal property which would not otherwise be exempt from this tax while such storage, use or other consumption remains subject to tax by the state under the provisions of part 1 of division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, or to impose this tax with respect to certain storage, use or other consumption of tangible personal property which would not be subject to tax by the state under the provisions of that Code; and in addition, the name of the county shall not be substituted for that of the state in sections 6701, 6702, except in the last sentence thereof, 6711, 6715, 6737, 6797 and 6828 of the Revenue and Taxation Code as adopted; and the name of the county shall not be substituted for the word "state" in the phrase "retailer engaged in business in this state" in section 6203 nor in the definition of that phrase in section 6203.

(3) There shall be exempt from the tax due under this section:

(i) The amount of any sales or use tax imposed by the State of California upon a retailer or consumer.

(ii) The storage, use or other consumption of tangible personal property, the gross receipts from the sale of which has been subject to sales tax under a sales or use tax ordinance enacted in accordance with part 1.5 of division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code by any other city and county, county or city in any other county in this state.

(iii) Provided, however, that the storage or use of tangible personal property in the transportation or transmission of persons, property or communications or in the generation, transmission or distribution of electricity or in the manufacture, transmission or distribution of gas in intrastate, interstate or foreign commerce by public utilities which are regulated by the Public Utilities Commission of the State of California shall be exempt from eighty (80) percent of the tax due under this section.

(Ord. No. 2645, § 5, 11-17-87)

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21-7 - Credit for collection.

Any person subject to a sales or use tax or required to collect a use tax under this article shall be entitled to credit against the payment of taxes due under this article the amount of sales and use tax due any city in this county, provided that the city sales and use tax is levied under an ordinance including provisions substantially conforming to the provisions of subdivisions (1) to (8), inclusive, of subsection (h) of section 7202 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, and other applicable provisions of part 1.5 of division 2 of that Code.

(Ord. No. 2645, § 6, 11-17-87)

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21-8 - Enjoining collection of tax prohibited.

No injunction or writ of mandate or other legal or equitable process shall issue in any suit, action or proceeding in any court against the state or this county or against any officer of the state or this county to prevent or enjoin the collection under this article or part 1.5 of division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code of any tax or any amount of tax required to be collected.

(Ord. No. 2645, § 7, 11-17-87)

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21-9 - Effective date of amendment to state code.

All amendments of the Revenue and Taxation Code enacted subsequent to the effective date of this article which relate to the sales and use tax which are not inconsistent with part 1.5 of division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code shall automatically become a part of this article.

(Ord. No. 2645, § 8, 11-17-87)

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21-10 - When article becomes inoperable—Lack of compliance with state law.

This article may be made inoperative not less than sixty (60) days, but not earlier than the first day of the calendar quarter, following the county's lack of compliance with article II (commencing with section 29530) of chapter 2 of division 3 of title 3 of the Government Code.

(Ord. No. 2645, § 8, 11-17-87)

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21-11 - Same—Increase in rate by city within county.

This article shall become inoperative on the first day of the first calendar quarter which commences more than sixty (60) days following the date upon which any city within the county increases the rate of its sales or use tax above the rate in effect on the date this article was enacted.

(Ord. No. 2645, § 9, 11-17-87)

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21-12 - Penalty for violation of article.

Any person violating any of the provisions of this article shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be punishable by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) or by imprisonment for a period of not more than six (6) months in the county jail or by both such fine and imprisonment.

(Ord. No. 2645, § 10, 11-17-87)

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21-13—21-17 - Reserved.

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