Redding Municipal Code Ch. 4.06 Utility Users' Tax

This chapter shall be known as the "utility users' tax."

(Ord. 1970 § 1 (part), 1991)

For the purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases when used in this chapter shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section:

"City" means the city of Redding.

"Month" means a calendar month.

"Person" means any domestic or foreign corporation, firm, association, syndicate, joint stock company, partnership of any kind, joint venture, club, Massachusetts business or common law trust, society, or individuals.

"Service supplier" means a person required to collect and remit a tax imposed by this chapter.

"Tax administrator" means the director of finance of the city.

"Telephone corporation," "electrical corporation," "gas corporation," "water corporation," and "cable television corporation" means the same as they are defined in Section 234, 218, 222, 241, and 215-5, respectively, of the Public Utilities Code of the state of California as said sections existed on January 1, 1975.

"Electrical corporation" and "water corporation" shall be construed to include any municipality or franchised agency engaged in the selling or supplying of electrical power and water, respectively, to a service user.

(Ord. 1970 § 1 (part), 1991)

Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as imposing a tax upon any person when the imposition of such tax upon such person would be in violation of the Constitution of the United States or state of California.

(Ord. 1970 § 1 (part), 1991)

An exemption to the tax imposed by this chapter is granted to every "governmental agency." For purposes of this exemption, "governmental agency" is defined and limited as follows:

A. The federal government of the United States, the state of California, a political subdivision thereof, and a municipal corporation;

B. Any "local agency" of the state for the local performance of governmental or proprietary functions within limited boundaries, as defined by Government Code Section 53090;

C. Any board, commission, or committee of subsections A or B of this section on which officers of such agency sit in their official capacity as members, and which is supported in whole by funds provided by such agency.

(Ord. 1970 § 1 (part), 1991)

A. There is imposed a tax on the amounts paid for any intrastate, interstate, and international telephone communication services by every person, other than a telephone corporation, in the city using such services. The tax imposed by this section shall be set by resolution and shall not exceed the rate of seven percent of the charges made for such services, and shall be paid by the person paying for such services.

B. As used in this section, the term "charges" shall not include charges for services paid for by inserting coins in coin-operated telephones, except that where such coin-operated service is furnished for a guaranteed amount, the amounts paid under such guarantee plus any fixed monthly or other periodic charge shall be included in the base for computing the amount of tax due. In addition thereto, the term "charges" shall not include charges for any type of service or equipment furnished by a service supplier subject to public utility regulation during any period in which the same or similar services or equipment are also available for sale or lease from persons other than a service supplier subject to public utility regulation.

C. As used in this section, the term "telephone communication services" shall not include land mobile services or maritime mobile services as defined in Section 2.1 of Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations as said section existed on June 1, 1983. The term "telephone communication services" refers to that service which provides access to a telephone system and the privilege of telephone quality communication with substantially all persons having telephone stations which are part of such telephone system.

D. The telephone users' tax imposed by this section is intended to and does apply to all charges billed to a telephone account having a situs in the city, irrespective of whether a particular communication service originates and/or terminates within the city. It, however, does not include charges incurred by the city in providing services to its citizens.

E. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection A of this section, the tax imposed under this section shall not be imposed upon any person for using intrastate, interstate, and international telephone communication services to the extent that the amounts paid for such services are exempt from or not subject to the tax imposed under Division 2, Part 20, of the California Revenue and Taxation Code, or the tax imposed under Section 4251 of the Internal Revenue Code.

(Ord. 1970 § 1 (part), 1991)

A. There is imposed a tax upon every person in the city using electrical energy in the city. The tax imposed by this section shall be set by resolution and shall not exceed the rate of seven percent of the charges made for such services, and shall be paid by the person paying for such energy.

B. As used in this section, the term "charges" shall include charges made for:

1. Metered energy; and

2. Minimum charges for service, including, but not limited to, customer charges, service charges, demand charges, standby charges, annual and monthly charges, fuel, cost adjustments, etc.

C. As used in this section, the term "using electrical energy" shall not be construed to mean the storage of such energy by a person in a battery owned or possessed by him for use in an automobile or other machinery or device apart from the premises upon which the energy was received; provided, however, that the term shall include the receiving of such energy for the purpose of using it in the charging of batteries. In addition, the term "using electrical energy" shall not include (1) electricity used and consumed by an electric utility supplier in the conduct of its business as an electrical public utility; (2) the mere receiving of such energy by an electric public utility or governmental agency at a point within the city for resale; or (3) the use of such energy in the production or distribution of water by a public utility or a governmental agency.

(Ord. 1970 § 1 (part), 1991)

A. There is imposed a tax upon every person in the city, other than a gas corporation or electrical corporation using in the city gas which is delivered through mains or pipes. The tax imposed by this section shall be set by resolution and shall not exceed the rate of seven percent of the charges made for such services, and shall be paid by the person paying for such gas.

B. As used in this section, the term "charges" shall include:

1. Gas which is delivered through mains or pipes; and

2. Minimum charges for such services, including, but not limited to, customer charges, service charges, and annual and monthly charges.

C. There shall be excluded from the base on which the tax imposed by this section is computed:

1. Charges made for gas which is to be resold and delivered through mains or pipes;

2. Charges made for gas sold for use in the generation of electrical energy or for the production or distribution of water by a public utility or governmental agency;

3. Charges made by a gas public utility for gas used and consumed in the conduct of the business of gas public utilities; and

4. Charges made for gas used in the propulsion of a motor vehicle, as the same is defined in the California Vehicle Code, utilizing natural gas.

(Ord. 1970 § 1 (part), 1991)

A. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a service user receiving gas or electricity directly from the producer, or otherwise not having the full tax due, billed, and collected by the service supplier, shall report said fact to the tax administrator within thirty days of said use; and shall remit directly to the city the amount of tax due.

B. The tax administrator may require from said service user the filing of tax returns or other satisfactory evidence documenting the sales price, or fair market value in the absence of a sales price, and the quantity of gas or electricity used.

(Ord. 1970 § 1 (part), 1991)

A. There is imposed a tax upon every person in the city using water which is delivered through mains or pipes. The tax imposed by this section shall be set by resolution and shall not exceed the rate of seven percent of the charges made for such service, and shall be paid by the person paying for such service.

B. There shall be excluded from the base on which the tax imposed under this section is computed:

1. Charges made for water which is to be resold and delivered through mains or pipes; and

2. Charges made by a municipal water department, public utility, or a county or municipal water district for water used and consumed by such department, utility or district.

(Ord. 1970 § 1 (part), 1991)

There is imposed a tax upon every person in the city using cable television service. The tax imposed by this section shall be set by resolution and shall not exceed the rate of seven percent of the charges made for such services, and shall be paid by the person paying for such service.

(Ord. 1970 § 1 (part), 1991)

A. Taxes collected from a service user which are not remitted to the tax administrator on or before the due dates provided in this chapter shall be delinquent.

B. Penalties for delinquency in remittance of any tax collected or any deficiency determination pursuant to this chapter shall attach to and be paid by the person required to collect and remit at the rate of fifteen percent of the total tax collected or imposed by this chapter, and interest at the legal rate at the discretion of the tax administrator.

C. The tax administrator is empowered to impose additional penalties upon persons required to collect and remit taxes under the provisions of this chapter for fraud or negligence in reporting or remitting at the rate of fifteen percent of the amount of tax collected or as recomputed by the tax administrator, and interest at the legal rate at the discretion of the tax administrator.

D. The penalties and interest imposed under the provisions of this section shall become a part of the tax required to be remitted.

(Ord. 1970 § 1 (part), 1991)

Any such tax received from a service user which has been withheld from the tax administrator shall be deemed a debt owed to the city by the person required to collect and remit. Any person holding such money contrary to the provisions of this chapter shall be liable to an action brought in the name of the city for the recovery of such amount.

(Ord. 1970 § 1 (part), 1991)

The duty to collect and remit the taxes imposed by this chapter shall be performed as follows:

A. The tax shall be collected at the same time as and along with the charges made in accordance with the regular billing practices of the service supplier. Where the payment collected by a service provider for its billing period, or a portion thereof, is less than the total due and owing for such period, the amount collected from the service user shall first be applied by billing period to the utility charge until such charges has been fully satisfied. The remainder of the payment, if any, shall be applied to the taxes due. The payment for utility charges and taxes shall be applied as set forth herein for each subsequent billing period only after the taxes from the prior billing period have been satisfied in full, including penalties and interest.

B. The duty to collect tax from a service user shall commence with the beginning of the first regular billing period applicable to that person which starts on or after the operative date of the enacting resolution. Where a person receives more than one billing, one or more being for different periods, the duty to collect shall arise separately for each billing period.

(Ord. 1970 § 1 (part), 1991)

A. Each service supplier shall, on or before the last day of each month, make a return to the tax administrator, in forms approved by him, stating the amount of taxes billed by the service supplier during the preceding month. At the time the return is filed, the full amount of the tax collected shall be remitted to the tax administrator. The tax administrator is authorized to require such further information as he deems necessary to properly determine if the tax here imposed is being levied and collected in accordance with this chapter. Returns and remittances are due immediately upon cessation of business for any reason.

B. At the option of the service supplier, an estimated amount of tax collected measured by the tax billed in the previous month shall be remitted to the tax administrator on or before the last day of each month.

(Ord. 1970 § 1 (part), 1991)

A. It shall be the duty of the tax administrator to enforce each and all of the provisions of this chapter.

B. The tax administrator may adopt administrative rules and regulations not inconsistent with the provisions of this chapter for the purpose of implementing and enforcing the payment, collection, and remittance of the taxes herein imposed.

C. The tax administrator may make administrative agreements to vary the strict requirements of this chapter so that collection of any tax imposed herein may be made in conformance with the billing procedures of a particular service supplier, so long as said agreements result in the collection of the tax in conformance with the general purpose and scope of this chapter. A copy of each such agreement shall be on file in the office of the tax administrator.

D. The tax administrator shall provide notice to all service suppliers, at least ninety days prior to any annexation or other change in the city boundaries. Said notice shall set forth the revised boundaries by street and address, along with a copy of the final annexation order from the conducting authority. Failure to make this notice in a timely manner relieves the service supplier from obligation to collect the tax, but such obligation shall commence ninety days after notice is received.

(Ord. 1970 § 1 (part), 1991)

A. The tax administrator may make an assessment for taxes not paid or remitted by a person required to pay or remit.

B. Whenever the tax administrator determines that a service user has deliberately withheld the amount of the tax owed by him from the amounts remitted to a service supplier, or that a service user has failed to pay the amount of the tax for a period of two or more billing periods, or whenever the tax administrator deems it in the best interests of the city, he may relieve the service supplier of the obligation to collect taxes due under this chapter from certain named service users for specified billing periods.

C. The service supplier shall provide the city, as a matter of routine, with the amounts refused, along with the names, addresses, and reasons of the service users for refusing to pay the tax imposed under the provisions of this chapter.

D. The tax administrator shall notify the service user that he has assumed responsibility to collect the taxes due for the stated periods, and demand payment of such taxes. The notice shall be served on the service user by handing it to him personally, or by depositing the notice in the United State mail, postage prepaid therein, addressed to the service user at the address to which billing was made by the persons required to collect the tax; or should the service user have changed his address, to his last known address.

E. If a service user fails to remit the tax to the tax administrator within fifteen days from the date of service of the notice upon him, which shall be the date of mailing if service is not accomplished in person, a penalty of twenty-five percent of the amount of the tax set forth in the notice shall be imposed, but not less than five dollars. The penalty shall become part of the tax herein required to be paid or remitted.

F. Nothing in this section shall relieve the service supplier of any duty to collect and remit any tax, penalty, or interest due under the provisions of this chapter.

(Ord. 1970 § 1 (part), 1991)

It shall be the duty of every person required to collect and remit to the city any tax imposed by this chapter to keep and preserve, for a period of three years, all records as may be necessary to determine the amount of such tax as he may have been liable for the collection of and remittance to the tax administrator, which records the tax administrator shall have the right to inspect at all reasonable times.

(Ord. 1970 § 1 (part), 1991)

A. Whenever the amount of any tax has been overpaid, or paid more than once, or has been erroneously or illegally collected or received by the city under this chapter, it may be refunded as provided in subsection B and C of this section, provided a claim in writing therefor, stating under penalty of perjury the specific grounds upon which the claim is founded, is filed with the tax administrator within three years of the date of payment. The claim shall be on forms furnished by the tax administrator.

B. A service supplier may claim a refund or take a credit against taxes collected and remitted an amount overpaid, paid more than once, or erroneously or illegally collected or received by the city, by filing a claim in the manner provided in subsection A of this section, but only when the service user having paid the tax to the service supplier establishes to the satisfaction of the tax administrator that the service user has been unable to obtain a refund from the service supplier who collected the tax.

(Ord. 1970 § 1 (part), 1991)

A. The tax administrator shall establish a "utility users' tax account" as a separate account, and shall place therein any and all of the taxes collected under this chapter.

B. Commencing on September 30, 1991, and quarterly thereafter, the tax administrator shall prepare a report to be furnished to the city council and the city manager of the amount of all of the taxes collected under this chapter and the disposition of same, including the balance, if any, in the utility user's tax account, for the previous quarter.

C. Each year, in conjunction with the city's annual budget deliberations, the city council shall reconsider the provisions and rate of the utility users' tax, as well as any surplus which may have accumulated in the utility users' tax account during the current fiscal year, after which the city council may modify the provisions and rate of the tax and/or may provide no tax on one or more utilities for the ensuing fiscal year. The tax imposed shall continue to be levied, for each fiscal year under the provisions of this chapter, unless modified by the city council.

(Ord. 1970 § 1 (part), 1991)

A. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as imposing a tax upon the city or any of its departments, agencies, boards or commissions.

B. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section, whenever a service supplier, pursuant to an order of the California Public Utilities Commission or a court of competent jurisdiction makes a refund to service users of charges for past utility services, the taxes paid pursuant to this chapter on the amount of such refunded charges shall also be refunded to service users by the service supplier, and the service supplier shall be entitled to claim a credit for such refunded taxes against the amount of tax which is due upon the next monthly return. In the event the ordinance enacting this chapter is repealed. The amount of any refundable taxes will be borne by the city; provided, however, that the same have been remitted to the city by the service supplier and have been received by the city.

C. The city council may, by resolution, establish an exemption for low-income service users for any or all of the taxes imposed by this chapter. The maximum amount of income which a service user may receive to qualify for the low-income exemption, and other qualifications as the city council may deem appropriate, shall be set forth in the resolution establishing the exemption.

D. The tax administrator shall adopt administrative rules and regulations not inconsistent with the provisions of this chapter regarding the form of application, certification, the duration of the exemption, and other matters the tax administrator deems in his discretion to be appropriate for the implementation and administration of the exemptions provided for by this section.

E. No exemption shall be granted to a service user who is receiving service from a service supplier through a master meter, and no exemption shall be granted with respect to any tax imposed by this chapter which is or has been paid by a public agency, or where the service user receives funds from a public agency, specifically for the payment of such taxes.

(Ord. 1970 § 1 (part), 1991)

If any section, subsection, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause, or phrase of this chapter, or any part thereof, is for any reason held to be unconstitutional, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portion of this chapter or any part thereof. The city council declares that it would have passed each section, subsection, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause, or phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, subdivisions, paragraphs, sentences, clauses or phrases be declared unconstitutional.

(Ord. 1970 § 1 (part), 1991)

The city council may, from time-to-time and at its discretion, by resolution, fix, alter, change, amend, or revise the tax rates provided for by this chapter.

(Ord. 1970 § 1 (part), 1991)

The city council may, by resolution, establish a maximum amount of taxes that a service user account must pay for a specified time period for any or all or the taxes imposed by this chapter.

(Ord. 1970 § 1 (part), 1991.)