Gilroy Municipal Code Art. IV Gas Users Tax

There is hereby imposed a tax upon every person in the city, other than a gas corporation or an electric corporation, using gas in the city which is delivered through mains or pipes. The tax imposed by this article shall be at the rate of five (5) percent of the charges made for such gas, and for any supplemental services or other associated activities directly related and/or necessary for the provision of gas to the end-user, which are provided by a service supplier or non-utility supplier to a service user. The tax shall be paid by the person paying for such gas or supplemental services.

(Ord. No. 99-12, Exh. B, 9-7-1999)

As used in this article, the term “charges” shall not include: (1) charges made for gas which is to be resold and delivered through mains and pipes; (2) charges made for gas used in the production of electricity by a cogenerator, an electric corporation, a public agency that supplies or sells electricity, or an exempt wholesale generator; (3) charges made by a gas public utility or 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. The term “using gas” shall not be construed to mean the mere receiving of such gas by a gas corporation or governmental agency at a point within the city for resale.

(Ord. No. 99-12, Exh. B, 9-7-1999)

(a) The tax imposed in this article shall be collected from the service user by any gas service supplier or non-utility supplier or its billing agent. The amount collected in one month shall be remitted to the tax collector on or before the last day of the following month; or, at the option of the person required to collect or remit the tax, such person shall remit an estimated amount of tax measured by the tax billed in the previous month or upon the payment pattern of the customer(s) of the service supplier, which must be received by the tax collector on or before the last day of the following month. The actual tax shall be calculated and paid within a reasonable time, with an appropriate adjustment for the payment of the estimated tax.

(b) Any service user subject to the tax imposed by Section 26B.14, which produces gas for selfuse, or which receives gas directly from a non-utility supplier not under the jurisdiction of this article, or which otherwise is not having the full tax due on the use of gas in the city that is directly billed and collected by the service supplier or its billing agent, shall report said fact to the tax collector and shall remit the tax due directly to the tax collector within thirty (30) days of such use. In lieu of paying said actual tax, the service user may, at its option, remit to the tax collector within thirty (30) days of such use an estimated amount of tax measured by the tax billed in the previous month, or upon the pattern payment of similar customers of the service supplier using similar amounts of gas, provided that the service user shall submit an adjusted payment or request for credit, as appropriate, within sixty (60) days following each calendar quarter. The credit, if approved by the tax collector, may be applied against any subsequent tax bill that becomes due.

(c) The tax collector may require said service user to identify its non-utility supplier and provide, subject to audit, invoices, books of account, or other satisfactory evidence documenting the quantity of gas used and the cost or price thereof. If the service user is unable to provide such satisfactory evidence, or if the administrative cost of calculating the tax in the opinion of the tax collector is excessive, the tax collector may determine the tax by applying the tax rate to the equivalent charges the service user would have incurred if the gas used had been provided by the service supplier, which is the primary provider of gas within the city. Rate schedules for this purpose shall be available from the city.