Los Angeles County Municipal Code Ch. 4.68 Sales and Use Taxes

The ordinance codified in this chapter shall be known as "the Los Angeles County uniform local sales and use tax ordinance."

(Ord. 6882 § 1, 1956.)

The board of supervisors of the county of Los Angeles declares that the ordinance codified in this chapter is adopted to achieve the following, among other, purposes, and directs that the provisions hereof be interpreted in order to accomplish such 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 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 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 ordinance.

(Ord. 10504 § 1, 1972: Ord. 8109 § 1, 1961; Ord. 6882 § 2, 1956.)

This chapter shall become operative on April 1, 1956, and prior thereto this county shall contract with the State Board of Equalization to perform all functions incident to the administration and operation of the sales and use tax ordinance codified in this chapter.

(Ord. 6882 § 3, 1956.)

A.

Sections 1, 2, and 3 of Ordinance 83-0198U, as codified in Sections 4.68.040B4, 4.68.050B3 and 4.68.060, shall be operative January 1, 1984.

B.

Sections 4, 5, and 6 of Ordinance 83-0198U, as set out in Editor's Notes immediately following Sections 4.68.040, 4.68.050 and 4.68.060, shall be operative on the operative date of any act of the Legislature of the state of California, which amended or repeals and reenacts Sections 7202 and 7203 of the Revenue and Taxation Code to provide an exemption for operators of waterborne vessels in the same or substantially the same language as that existing in those sections as they read on October 1, 1983.

(Ord. 83-0198U §§ 7 and 8, 1983.)

A.

1. For the privilege of selling tangible personal property at retail a tax is imposed upon all retailers in the county at the rate of one percent of the gross receipts of the retailer from the sale of all tangible personal property sold at retail in the county of Los Angeles on and after April 1, 1956 to and including June 30, 1972, and at the rate of one and one-quarter percent thereafter.

For the purposes of this chapter, 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. The gross receipts from such sales shall include delivery charges, when such charges are subject to the state sales and use tax, regardless of the place to which delivery is made. In the event a retailer has no permanent place of business in the state or has more than one place of business, the place or places at which the retail sales are consummated shall be determined under rules and regulations to be prescribed and adopted by the Board of Equalization.

B.

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 April 1, 1956, applicable to sales taxes are hereby adopted and made a part of this section as though fully set forth herein.

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 Los Angeles shall be substituted therefor. Nothing in this subdivision shall be deemed to require the substitution of the name of the county of Los Angeles for the word "State" when that word is used as a 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 or officer thereof, rather than by or against the State Board of Equalization, in performing the functions incident to the administration or operation of this chapter; 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 said 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, and 6797 and 6828 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, as adopted.

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.

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

a.

The amount of any sales or use tax imposed by the state of California upon a retailer or consumer;

b.

80 percent of the gross receipts from the sale of tangible personal property to operators of aircraft to be used or consumed principally outside the county in which the sale is made and directly and exclusively in the use of such aircraft as common carriers of persons or property under the authority of the laws of this state, the United States, or any foreign government.

(Ord. 83-0198U § 1, 1983; Ord. 10781 § 1, 1973; Ord. 10504 §§ 2, 3 and 4, 1972; Ord. 8109 §§ 2—4, 1961; Ord. 6882 § 4, 1956.)

Editor's note— Ord. 83-0198U § 4 also amends subsection B4 of section 4.68.040, as follows. For operability of this amendment, see Section 4.68.032B.

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

a. The amount of any sales or use tax imposed by the state of California upon a retailer or consumer;

b. 80 percent of the gross receipts from the sale of tangible personal property to operators of waterborne vessels to be used or consumed principally outside the county in which the sale is made and directly and exclusively in the carriage of persons or property in such vessels for commercial purposes;

c. 80 percent of the gross receipts from the sale of tangible personal property to operators of aircraft to be used or consumed principally outside the county in which the sale is made and directly and exclusively in the use of such aircraft as common carriers of persons or property under the authority of the laws of this state, the United States or any foreign government.

A.

An excise tax is hereby imposed on the storage, use or other consumption in the county of Los Angeles of tangible personal property purchased from any retailer on or after April 1, 1956, for storage, use or other consumption in the county at the rate of one percent of the sales price of the property to and including June 30, 1972, and at the rate of one and one-quarter percent thereafter. The sales price shall include delivery charges when such charges are subject to state sales or use tax regardless of the place to which delivery is made.

B.

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 April 1, 1956, applicable to use taxes, are hereby adopted and made a part of this section as though fully set forth herein.

Wherever, and to the extent that, in Part 1 of Division 2 of the said 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, the 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 chapter; 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 said 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 said 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 said 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.

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

a.

The amount of any sales or use tax imposed by the state of California upon a retailer or consumer;

b.

The storage, use, or other consumption of tangible personal property, the gross receipts from the sale of which have been subject to sales tax under a sales and use tax ordinance enacted in accordance with Part 1.5 of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code by any city and county, county, or city in this state, shall be exempt from the tax due under this chapter;

c.

In addition to the exemptions provided in Sections 6366 and 6366.1 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, the storage, use, or other consumption of tangible personal property purchased by operators of aircraft and used or consumed by such operators directly and exclusively in the use of such aircraft as common carriers of persons or property for hire or compensation under a certificate of public convenience and necessity issued pursuant to the laws of this state, the United States, or any foreign government is exempt from 80 percent of the tax;

d.

And provided that in addition to the exemptions provided in Sections 6366 and 6366.1 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, the storage, use or other consumption of tangible personal property purchased by operators of aircraft and used or consumed by such operators directly and exclusively in the use of such aircraft as common carriers of persons or property

for hire or compensation under a certificate of public convenience and necessity issued pursuant to the laws of this state, the United States, or any foreign government is exempt from 80 percent of the tax.

(Ord. 83-0198U § 2, 1983; Ord. 10781 § 2, 1973; Ord. 10504 §§ 5 and 6, 1972; Ord. 8109 §§ 5 and 6, 1961; Ord. 6882 § 5, 1956.)

Editor's note— Ord. 83-0198U § 5 also amended subsection B3 of section 4.68.050, as follows. For operability of this amendment, see Section 4.68.032B.

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

a. The amount of any sales or use tax imposed by the state of California upon a retailer or consumer;

b. The storage, use or other consumption of tangible personal property, the gross receipts from the sale of which have been subject to sales tax under a sales and use tax ordinance enacted in accordance with Part 1.5 of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code by any city and county, county or city in this state, shall be exempt from the tax due under this chapter;

c. Provided, however, that the storage, use or other consumption of tangible personal property purchased by operators of waterborne vessels and used or consumed by such operators directly and exclusively in the carriage of person or property in such vessel for commercial purposes is exempted from 80 percent of the tax;

d. In addition to the exemptions provided in Sections 6366 and 6366.1 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, the storage, use, or other consumption of tangible personal property purchased by operators of aircraft and used or consumed by such operators directly and exclusively in the use of such aircraft as common carriers of persons or property for hire or compensation under a certificate of public convenience and necessity issued pursuant to the laws of this state, the United States or any foreign government is exempt from 80 percent of the tax.

Any person subject to a sales or use tax or required to collect a use tax under this chapter shall be entitled to credit against the payment of taxes due under this chapter 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 subdivision (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. 83-0198U § 3, 1983: Ord. 10781 § 3, 1973: Ord. 8109 § 7, 1961: Ord. 6882 § 6, 1956.)

Editor's note— Ord. 83-0198U § 6 also amended Section 4.68.050, as follows. For operability of this amendment, see Section 4.68.032B.

Any person subject to a sales or use tax or required to collect a use tax under this chapter shall be entitled to credit against

the payment of taxes due under this chapter 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 (10), inclusive, of subsection (i) of Section 7202 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, and other applicable provisions of Part 1.5 of Division 2 of that Code.

If, subsequent to January 1, 1974, the State Board of Equalization adopts an assessment ratio for state-assessed property which is higher than the ratio which is required for local assessments by Section 401 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, Sections 4, 5, and 6 of Ordinance 6882 (codified as 4.60.040, 4.60.050 and 4.60.060 of this chapter), operative on the first day of the month next following the month in which such higher ratio is adopted automatically are amended as follows:

A.

Section 4 of said Ordinance 6882 is amended by amending subparagraph (4) of paragraph (b) thereof to read:

"(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 percent (80%) 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."

B.

Section 5 of said Ordinance 6882 is amended by amending subparagraph (3) of paragraph (b) thereof to read:

"(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 and use tax ordinance enacted in accordance with Part 1.5 of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code by any city and county, county, or city 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 percent (80%) of the tax due under this section."

C.

Section 6 of said Ordinance 6882 is amended to read:

"Sec. 6. Any person subject to a sales and use tax under this ordinance shall be entitled to a credit against the payment of taxes due under this ordinance 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 subdivision (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. 10781 § 4, 1973.)

If, subsequent to adopting such higher ratio, the State Board of Equalization adopts an assessment ratio for state-assessed property which is identical to the ratio required for local assessments by Section 401 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, Sections 4, 5 and 6 of Ordinance 6882 (codified as Sections 4.60.040, 4.60.050 and 4.60.060 of this chapter), operative on the first day of the month next following the month in which such identical ratio is adopted, automatically are amended as provided in Sections 1, 2 and 3 of Ordinance 6882 (codified as Sections 4.60.010 through 4.60.030 of this chapter).

(Ord. 10781 § 5, 1973.)

All amendments of the Revenue and Taxation Code enacted subsequent to March 30, 1956, the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter, which relate to the sales and use tax and which are not inconsistent with Part 1.5 of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code shall automatically become a part of this chapter.

(Ord. 6882 § 7, 1956.)

The provisions of this chapter may, by a subsequent ordinance, be made inoperative not less than 60 days, but not earlier than the first day of the calendar quarter, following an increase by any city within this county of the rate of its sales or use tax above the rate in effect at the time the ordinance codified in this chapter was enacted.

(Ord. 6882 § 8, 1956.)

This chapter may be made inoperative not less than 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. 10504 § 7, 1972: Ord. 6882 § 8.5, 1956.)

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 against any officer of the state, or against this county or against any officer of this county, to prevent or enjoin the collection under this chapter or Part 1.5 of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code of the state of California, of any tax or any amount of tax required to be collected.

(Ord. 6882 § 9, 1956.)

Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be punishable by a fine of not more than $500.00 or by imprisonment for a period of not more than six months in the County Jail, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

(Ord. 6882 § 10, 1956.)

If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion of the ordinance codified in this chapter, including but not limited to any exemption, is, for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of said ordinance. The board of supervisors of the county of Los Angeles declares that it would have adopted such ordinance, and each section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, phrases or portions be declared invalid or unconstitutional.

(Ord. 6882 § 11, 1956.)