3.39 — ACCESS LINE TAX

The tax imposed and levied by this Chapter is intended to provide revenue for such general fund services as may be determined by the City Council including, without limitation, police, fire, and emergency services.

(Ord. 1765 § 18, 2009)

When used in this Chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

"Access line" means any connection whether by wire or by wireless technology, from a customer location to a provider of telephone communications services offered to the public for compensation. "Access line" includes the assignment of a 10-digit telephone number under the North American Numbering Plan for the purpose of providing telephone communications services, including without limitation voice over internet protocol telephone communications services, using such telephone number.

"Billing address" has the meaning given in Chapter 3.32 of this Code.

"High capacity trunk line," shall mean a trunk line with a capacity of at least 24 channels over a light capacity service.

"Lifeline service" means discounted telephone communications service available to eligible low income residential customers.

"Prepaid calling service" means the right to access telephone communications service, which must be paid for in advance and which enables the origination of calls using an access number or authorization code, whether manually or electronically dialed, and that is sold in predetermined units or dollars of which the number declines with use in a known amount, without the provisioning of an access line.

"Post-paid calling service" means the telecommunications service obtained by making a payment on a call-by-call basis either through the use of a credit card or payment mechanism such as a bank card, travel card, credit card, or debit card, or by charge made to a telephone number which is not associated with the origination or termination of the telecommunications service without the provisioning of an access line.

"Service address" has the meaning given in Chapter 3.32 of this Code.

"Service supplier" means any person supplying an access line to any telephone communications service subscriber within the City of Palm Springs or the billing agent of any such person.

"Telephone communications service" has the meaning given in Chapter 3.32 of this Code.

"Telephone communications service subscriber" means any person required to pay a tax under this Chapter.

"Trunk line" means a line between a service supplier's switching device and a private branch exchange or automatic call distributing system, or other similar device, at a telephone

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City of Palm Springs, CA

REVENUE AND FINANCE

§ 3.39.020

§ 3.39.050

communications service subscriber location, provided however that "trunk line" shall not include any such line which is marketed to customers and configured by the service supplier to deliver only calls to the subscriber location and cannot be used by the subscriber to originate outgoing calls from the subscriber location (e.g., direct inward dial lines). (Ord. 1765 § 18, 2009)

• (a) There is hereby imposed a tax as provided in this Chapter on every person who subscribes to telephone communications services within the City of Palm Springs, to the extent permitted by Federal and State law. The tax shall apply to each access line within the City's tax jurisdiction, including, without limitation, access lines billed to a telephone account having a situs in the City, as permitted by the Mobile Telecommunications Sourcing Act, 4 U.S.C. § 116 et seq. There is a rebuttable presumption that service billed to a billing address or provided to a service address in the City is used, in whole or in part, within the City's boundaries and that such service is subject to taxation under this Chapter. The tax shall not apply to a prepaid calling service or a post-paid calling service.

• (b) The amount of the tax imposed by this Section shall be paid, on a per-access-line basis, by the person paying for telephone communications service.

• (c) Only one payment of the tax shall be required for any access line, trunk line or high capacity trunk line, notwithstanding that access lines of more than one person are used in furnishing telephone communications service to a telephone communications service subscriber.

• (Ord. 1765 § 18, 2009)

Nothing in this Chapter shall be construed as imposing a tax upon the access lines of:

• (a) A customer receiving Lifeline service; or

• (b) A service supplier; or

• (c) Coin-operated telephones; or

• (d) A nonprofit hospital which is exempt from federal income tax under Section 501(a) of the United States Code; or

• (e) A nonprofit educational organization which is exempt from income tax under Section 501(a) of the United States Code; or

• (f) Any person when imposition of such tax upon that person would violate the Constitution of the United States or that of the State of California or preemptive Federal or State law.

• (Ord. 1765 § 18, 2009)

The amount of the tax shall be $1.13 per month per access line and $8.48 per month per trunk

1. Editor Note: Pursuant to City Council Resolution No. 23771, adopted February 18, 2015, the amount of tax shall be $1.21 per month per access line and $9.11 per month per trunk line.

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City of Palm Springs, CA § 3.39.050

PALM SPRINGS CODE

§ 3.39.060

line. These amounts shall be adjusted annually in accordance with the increase in the Consumer Price Index: All Urban Consumers for the Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area for All Items as reported by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, or any successor to that index, as of December 31st of each year, beginning with December 31, 2010, and such increase shall take effect 1) when notice of the increase is given by the Finance Director in the manner generally used by the Finance Director for notification of fee or tax changes and 2) such increase is approved by the City Council by resolution. (Ord. 1765 § 18, 2009)

• (a) The tax imposed by this Chapter shall be collected from the telephone communications service subscriber by the service supplier.

• (b) The tax required to be collected by service suppliers under this ordinance shall be added to and stated separately in the service supplier's billings to telephone communications service subscribers. The charge in such billings shall include only the amount authorized by this Chapter, and shall not include any additional charges or fees which may be imposed by the service supplier to recover the cost of collecting the tax.

• (c) Nothing in this Chapter is intended to regulate the ability of a service supplier to recover any costs of collecting the tax imposed under this Chapter, to the extent such that recovery may be authorized by state or federal law.

• (d) Except as otherwise stated in this Chapter, the tax imposed by this Chapter shall be collected and remitted at the same time as and in the same manner as the tax imposed by Chapter 3.32 of this Code.

• (e) Except as otherwise stated in this Chapter, the tax imposed by this Chapter shall be administered in the same manner as the tax imposed by Chapter 3.32 of this Code.

• (f) Any person aggrieved by any decision or administrative ruling of any kind of the Tax Administrator in the collection and administration of the tax provided under this Chapter, shall be required to comply with the appeals procedure of Section 3.32.215 of this Code. Compliance with Section 3.32.215 shall be a prerequisite to a suit thereon. Nothing herein shall permit the filing of a claim or action on behalf of a class or group of taxpayers.

• (Ord. 1765 § 18, 2009)

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City of Palm Springs, CA

REVENUE AND FINANCE

§ 3.40.010

§ 3.40.040