Fresno Municipal Code Art. 4 Use Tax

"Use" includes the exercise of any right or power over tangible personal property incident to the ownership of that property, subject, however, to the following exemption:

(1) It does not include the sale of property in the regular course of business for resale. (Orig. Ord. 3669; Am. Ord. 5246, 1958).

An excise tax is hereby imposed on the use or other consumption in the city of tangible personal property purchased from any seller on or after the effective date of this article for use or other consumption in said city at the rate of one per cent of the sales price of the property. The word "seller" as used in this article shall be construed to include both retailers and wholesalers.

The tax hereby levied, except as otherwise herein provided, is levied in the same manner, to the same extent and under the same conditions as use taxes are levied pursuant to Part 1 of Division 2 of the California Revenue and Taxation Code, known as the "Sales and Use Tax Law" as amended, and in force and effect on September 9, 1953.

(a) All of the provisions of the "Sales and Use Tax Law" as amended, and in force and effect on September 9, 1953, except the provisions thereof pertaining solely to the "Sales Tax" and Sections 6008, 6201 to 6204 inclusive, 6207, 6226 and 6241 to 6246 inclusive, 6403, 6453, 7052, 7056, 7057, 7101, 7102, 7151, 7152 and 7153 are hereby adopted and made a part of this article as though fully set forth herein, and all provisions of any other article in conflict therewith are inapplicable to this article and the tax hereby imposed; provided that the term "sales price" shall not include the amount of any California State Sales tax or use tax, and that the word "storage" shall, for the purposes of this article, be deemed deleted from those provisions of the California Revenue and Taxation Code adopted by reference, it being the intent of the Council that the tax imposed by this article shall not apply to the storage of tangible personal property.

(b) All of the provisions of the "Sales and Use Tax Law" hereby adopted providing for the adoption of rules and regulations and for hearings on the part of the State Board of Equalization shall be performed by the Council. All other provisions of the State "Sales and Use Tax Law" hereby adopted providing for the performance of official action on the part of the State Board of Equalization shall be performed by the Controller.

(c) The City of Fresno shall be deemed substituted for the State of California whenever the state is referred to in said "Sales and Use Tax Law".

(d) The City Attorney shall be deemed substituted for the Attorney General whenever the Attorney General is referred to in said "Sales and Use Tax Law".

(e) The Controller shall be deemed substituted for the State Controller and State Board of Control whenever the State Controller or State Board of Control are referred to in said "Sales and Use Tax Law".

(f) The County of Fresno shall be deemed substituted for the County of Sacramento whenever the County of Sacramento is referred to in said "Sales and Use Tax Law". (Orig. Ord. 4311; Am. Ord. 5308, 1958; Am. Ord. 5311, 1958).

The rules and regulations of the State Board of Equalization pertaining to the interpretation, administration and enforcement of the "Sales and Use Tax Law", insofar as applicable, shall apply to the interpretation of this article until specifically abandoned by the rules and regulations adopted by the Council pursuant to this article. (Orig. Ord. 3669; Am. Ord. 5311, 1958).

The inclusion of any clause, portion or part of the "Sales and Use Tax Law", Part 1, Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code of the State of California, verbatim in this article shall not in or of itself be deemed to exclude any of the remaining provisions of said "Sales and Use Tax Law", that are made a part hereof by reference only. (Orig. Ord. 3669).

Every seller who sells to the consumer or user and who maintains a place of business in this city shall apply to the Controller for authorization to collect the tax imposed by this article. Any seller not maintaining a place of business in this city may apply to the Controller for authorization to collect the tax hereby imposed. Upon receipt of any application in such form as required by him, the Controller in the case of a seller maintaining a place of business in the city, shall authorize, and in the case of a seller not maintaining a place of business in the city, may authorize the applicant to make such collections and to forward the same to the Controller. (Orig. Ord. 3669; Am. Ord. 5308, 1958).

Every person using or otherwise consuming in this city tangible personal property purchased from a seller, is liable for the tax; provided, however, no tax shall be due hereunder if the tax imposed by Article 3 of Chapter 7 of this Code, as now enacted or as hereafter amended, has been paid on the sale of such property. His liability is not extinguished until the tax has been paid to the city, except that a receipt from a seller authorized pursuant to Section 7-407 to collect the tax, given to the purchaser pursuant to Section 7-409, is sufficient to relieve the purchaser from further liability for the tax to which the receipt refers. (Orig. Ord. 4260).

Every seller who is authorized by the Controller to collect the tax imposed by this article and who makes sales of tangible personal property for use or other consumption in this city, not exempted under the provisions of this article, shall collect the tax from the purchaser at the time of making the sale. Upon collecting the tax, the seller, on demand, shall give to the purchaser a receipt therefor in the manner and form prescribed by the Controller. The tax so collected by the seller shall be held in trust by him for the city and shall be paid to the city by the seller in the manner and at the times elsewhere provided in this article. (Orig. Ord. 3669; Am. Ord. 5308, 1958).

The tax so collected by the seller from the purchaser shall be displayed separately from the list price, the price advertised in the premises, the marked price or other price on the sales check or other proof of sale. (Orig. Ord. 3669).

Except as otherwise specifically exempted, the tax hereby imposed applies to all tangible personal property used or consumed in this city; provided, however, that if the seller in good faith, takes from the purchaser a certificate that the property was purchased prior to April 1, 1950, or was not purchased for use or consumption in this city and has not been nor will be so used or consumed, he shall be relieved of liability to collect and pay the tax. The certificate shall be signed by and bear the name of the purchaser, shall indicate the address of the purchaser and the place where such tangible personal property will be used or consumed, the date of purchase, and shall be substantially in such form as the Controller may prescribe. (Orig. Ord. 3669; Am. Ord. 5308, 1958).

In addition to those exemptions contained in Part 1 of Division 2 of the California Revenue and Taxation Code which are incorporated into this article by reference, there shall be excluded from the computation of the tax the sales price of:

(1) Purchases of property upon which a sales tax, purchase tax, use tax, purchase and use tax, or any of them, has been legally imposed by and paid on the same transaction to any city of the State of California;

(2) Purchases of materials and/or fixtures withdrawn from local stock for use in a county where such materials and/or fixtures are subject to a state administered local use tax, provided records are maintained by the user showing the job location, the quantity and the cost of such materials and/or fixtures so withdrawn. (Orig. Ord. 3669; Am. Ord. 5278, 1958; Rep. and Added Ord. 5176, 1957).

Every seller selling tangible personal property for use or other consumption in the City of Fresno to which the use tax is applicable under the provisions of this article, and who maintains a place of business in said city or acts through agents located in said city, shall register with the Controller and give the name and address of such agent or agents, if any, and office or other place of business in the city. (Orig. Ord. 3609; Am. Ord. 5308, 1958).

(a) The taxes imposed by this article are due and payable to the Controller quarterly on or before the last day of the month next succeeding each quarterly period, said quarterly periods being from January 1 to March 31; April 1 to June 30; July 1 to September 30; and October 1 to December 31 of each year.

(b) The Controller for good cause may extend for not more than thirty days the time for making any return or paying any sum required to be paid hereunder. The extension may be granted at any time, provided a written request therefor is filed with the Controller prior to the delinquency date. (Orig. Ord. 3669; Am. Ord. 5308, 1958).

All taxes payable under this article, except amounts of audit determinations made on and after August 15, 1953, by the Controller, shall be deemed delinquent and a penalty of ten per cent of the amount of the tax due shall be imposed, if not paid on or before the last day of the month next succeeding the period for which the tax is due. An additional penalty of fifteen per cent of the original tax due shall be imposed, (making a total penalty of twenty-five per cent), if payment is not made on or before the last day of the second month next succeeding the period for which the tax is due. (Orig. Ord. 4311; Am. Ord. 5308, 1958).

Each return filed by a seller shall show the total sales of property sold by him during the reporting period in respect of which he collected the tax hereby imposed. Each return filed by a purchaser shall show the total purchase price of the property purchased by him during the reporting period, in respect of which a tax is due under this article. All returns shall also show the amount of the taxes for the period covered by the return and such other information as the Controller deems necessary to the proper administration of this article. (Orig. Ord. 3669; Am. Ord. 5308, 1958).

The Council, by resolution, may adopt rules prescribing methods and schedules for the collection and payment of the tax. Such schedules shall be so determined as to facilitate collection of this tax at the same time that the seller collects the tax imposed under the California Sales and Use Tax Law and so as to produce an average tax return of one per cent on all purchases subject to the use tax. (Orig. Ord. 4260; Am. Ord. 5311, 1958).

All taxes hereby levied shall be payable to the Controller and any civil suit for the collection thereof may be filed in any court of competent jurisdiction in the State of California, and the City Attorney shall prosecute the action. (Orig. Ord. 3669; Am. Ord. 5308, 1958).

The Controller may at his option accept a State of California Resale Certificate as evidence that any sale is not a sale for use or consumption in the city, or he may in his discretion require an affidavit from the seller setting forth such information respecting such sale as he deems necessary to determine the nature of such sale. (Orig. Ord. 3669; Am. Ord. 5308, 1958).

All moneys collected under and pursuant to the provisions of this article shall be deposited and paid into the general fund of the city. (Orig. Ord. 3669).

No officer or employee of the city having an administrative duty under this article shall make known in any manner whatever the business affairs, operations, or information obtained by an investigation of records and equipment of any seller or any other person visited or examined in the discharge of official duty, or the amount or source of income profits, losses, expenditures, or any particular thereof, set forth or disclosed in any return, or permit any return or copy thereof or any book containing any abstract or particulars thereof to be seen or examined by any person. However, the Council may, by resolution, authorize examination of the returns by federal or state officers or employees or by the tax officers of this or any other city if a reciprocal arrangement exists. Successors, receivers, trustees, executors, administrators, assignees, and guarantors, if directly interested, may be given information as to the items included in the measure and amounts of any unpaid tax or amounts of tax required to be collected, interest and penalties. (Orig. Ord. 3669; Am. Ord. 5311, 1958).

No person required to make, render, sign or verify any report under the provisions of this article, shall make any false or fraudulent return, with intent to defeat or evade the determination of an amount due and required to be paid hereunder. The penalties provided by this Code shall be in addition to the penalties and interest contained in Section 6482, 6484, 6485 and 6565 of the Revenue and Taxation Code of the State of California, which sections are incorporated by reference under Sections 7-402 and 7-403 of this Code. (Orig. Ord. 3669 and 4311).

No seller or other person shall fail or refuse to furnish any return required to be made, or fail or refuse to furnish a supplemental return or other data required by the Controller. (Orig. Ord. 4669; Am. Ord. 5308, 1958).

All sellers, consumers and holders of City of Fresno business licenses shall keep complete records of all business transactions, including sales, receipts, purchases and other expenditures, and shall retain all such records for examination by the Department of Finance of the City of Fresno. Such records shall be maintained for a period of at least three years. (Added Ord. 5081, 1957).