Sanger Municipal Code § 66-91 Service users receiving direct purchase of gas or electricity

Footnotes:

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Cross reference— Buildings and building regulations, ch. 14; underground utility districts, ch. 78; utilities, ch. 82.

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

Month means calendar month.

Nonutility supplier means a service supplier, other than an electrical corporation serving within the city, which generates electrical energy in capacities of at least ten kilowatts for its own use or for sale to others.

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, individual or municipal corporation other than this city.

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

Service user means a person required to pay a tax imposed by this article.

Tax administrator means the director of finance of the city.

Telephone corporation, electrical corporation, gas corporation, water corporation and cable television corporation shall have the same meanings as defined in Public Utilities Code §§ 234, 218, 222, 241 and 215.5 respectively, except "electrical corporation," "gas corporation" and "water corporation" also includes any municipality, public agency or person engaged in the selling or supplying of electrical power, gas or water to a service user.

(Code 1960, § 20.61; Ord. No. 875, § 1, 9-3-92)

Cross reference— Definitions and rules of construction generally, § 1-2.

(a) Persons may be granted an exemption from payment of the taxes imposed by this article in the following circumstances:

(1) In or upon any premises occupied by a household in which the combined gross income of all members of the household who reside on the premises was not more than 80 percent of the county median income in the calendar year prior to the fiscal year, July 1 through June 30, for which the exemption is applied, provided further that the person who applied for city water service and is named on the city water bill for such premises is at least 62 years of age.

(2) In or upon any premises occupied by a household in which the combined gross income of all members of the household who reside on the premises was not more than 50 percent of the county median income in the calendar year prior to the fiscal year, July 1 through June 30, for which the exemption is applied.

(3) In or upon any premises occupied by a household in which the person who applied for city water service and is named on the city water bill for such premises is totally and permanently disabled.

(4) In or upon any premises occupied by a household in which the person who applied for city water service and is named on the city water bill for such premises is over the age of 65 years.

(b) The exemption granted by subsection (a) of this section shall excuse the service supplier from collecting taxes from such exempt person or household, and the exempt person or household from paying such taxes to the service supplier.

(c) There shall be provided a method by which a person or household may apply for and receive exemption from payment of such taxes predicated upon a certified statement of income, age and disability.

(d) Applications for tax exemptions shall be on forms supplied by the city finance director, and statements made thereon shall be under oath and subject to penalty of perjury.

(e) The city finance director shall review each application. If the finance director determines that the applicant is not entitled to an exemption, or that the applicant has failed to truthfully set forth the facts, he may deny the application by written notice to the applicant. The applicant may appeal the finance director's decision to the city council within ten days after the date of mailing of the rejection by the finance director. Such appeal shall be in writing and shall state the facts upon which the appeal is based.

(f) An application for tax exemption under this chapter must be filed no later than July 1 each year. If no exemption is applied for within the time prescribed, the applicant may apply for a refund as outlined in section 66-101.

(g) An application for an exemption must be refiled each year in order to continue the exemption.

(h) The finance director may require an applicant for exemption to submit evidence including, but not limited to, state income tax returns, payroll forms, medical certificates, birth certificates and other appropriate documents, in support of an application for tax exemption under this section.

(Code 1960, § 20.67)

(a) There is hereby imposed a tax upon every person using intrastate telephone communication services in the city other than a telephone corporation. The tax imposed by this article shall be at the rate of five percent of all 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 telephone 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; nor shall the term "charges" include charges for any type of service or equipment furnished by a service supplied subject to public utility regulations 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; nor shall the term "telephone communication services" include land mobile services or maritime mobile services as defined in section 2.1 of title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as such section existed on January 1, 1970. 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. The telephone users tax 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.

(c) The tax imposed by this section shall be collected from the service user by the person providing the intrastate telephone communication services, or the person receiving payment for such services. The amount of the tax collected in one month shall be remitted to the tax administrator on or before the last day of the following month; or at the option of the person required to collect and remit the tax, an estimated amount of tax collected, measured by the tax bill in the previous month, shall be remitted to the tax administrator on or before the last day of each month.

(d) 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 telephone communication services to the extent that the amounts paid for such services are exempt from or not subject to the tax imposed under the Revenue and Taxation Code § 41001 et seq., or the tax imposed under section 4251 of the United States Internal Revenue Code.

(e) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, the tax imposed under this section shall not exceed the sum of $600.00 for any 12-month period beginning July 1 and ending June 30 of the next succeeding year.

(Code 1960, § 20.62; Ord. No. 875, § 2, 9-3-92)

(a) There is hereby imposed a tax upon every person using electrical energy in the city other than an electrical or gas corporation. The tax imposed by this section shall be at the rate of five percent of the charges made for such energy by an electrical corporation franchised to serve the city and shall be billed to and paid by the person using the energy. The tax applicable to electrical energy provided by a nonutility supplier shall be based on the above tax rate and the sale price of that electrical energy if there is an arms-length transaction for the sale of the electrical energy between a nonaffiliated nonutility supplier and the service user. If there is not an arms-length sale from a nonutility supplier, the tax shall be determined by applying the tax rate to the equivalent charges the service user would have incurred if the energy used had been provided by the electrical corporation franchised by the city. Rate schedules for this purpose shall be available from the city. Nonutility suppliers shall install, maintain and use an appropriate utility-type metering system which will enable compliance with this section. "Charges" as used in this section shall include charges made for:

(1) Metered energy; and

(2) Minimum charges for service, including customer charges, service charges, demand charges, standby charges and all other annual and monthly charges, fuel or other cost adjustments, authorized by the state public utilities commission or the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

(b) As used in this section, the term "using electrical energy" shall not be construed to mean the storage of such energy in a battery owned or possessed by a person 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; nor shall the term include electricity used and consumed by an electric utility supplier in the conduct of its business; nor shall the term include the mere receiving of such energy by an electric corporation or governmental agency at a point within the city for resale; nor shall the term include the use of such energy in the production or distribution of water by a water utility or a governmental agency.

(c) The tax imposed in this section shall be collected from the service user by the service supplier or nonutility supplier. The tax imposed in this section on use supplied by self-generation or from a nonutility supplier not subject to the jurisdiction of this article shall be collected and remitted to the tax administrator in the manner set forth in section 66-90. The amount of tax collected by a service supplier or a nonutility supplier in one month shall be remitted by U.S. mail to the tax administrator, postmarked on or before the last day of the following month; or at the option of the person required to collect and remit the tax, an estimated amount of tax measured by the tax billed in the previous month shall be remitted by U.S. mail, to the tax administrator, postmarked on or before the last day of each month.

(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, a service user receiving electricity directly from the nonutility supplier, or otherwise not having the full tax due, billed and collected by the service supplier, shall report such fact to the tax administrator within 30 days of such use; and shall remit directly to the city the amount of such tax due.

(e) The tax administrator may require from such 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 quantity of electricity used.

(f) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 66-97, if the amount paid by a service user is less than the full amount of the energy charge and tax which has accrued for the billing period, such amount and any subsequent payments by a service user shall be applied to the energy charge first until such charge has been fully satisfied. Any remaining balance shall be applied to taxes due.

(g) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, the tax imposed under this section shall not exceed the sum of $600.00 for any 12-month period beginning July 1 and ending June 30 of the next succeeding year.

(Code 1960, § 20.63; Ord. No. 875, § 3, 9-3-92)

(a) There is hereby imposed a tax upon every person using gas in the city which is delivered through mains or pipes other than a gas corporation or an electrical corporation. The tax imposed by this section shall be at the rate of five percent of the charges made for such gas and shall be billed to and paid by the person using such gas. The tax applicable to gas or gas transportation provided by nonutility suppliers shall be based on the sale price of the gas or gas transportation if that is derived from an arms-length transaction between a nonaffiliated nonutility supplier and the service user. If there is not an arms-length sale, the tax shall be determined by applying the tax rate to the equivalent charges the service user would have incurred if the gas or gas transportation had been provided by the gas corporation franchised by the city. "Charges" as used in this section shall include:

(1) That billed for gas which is delivered through mains or pipes;

(2) Gas transportation charges; and

(3) Demand charges, service charges, customer changes, minimum charges, annual and monthly charges, and any other charge authorized by the state public utility commission or the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

(b) There shall be excluded from the base on which the tax imposed in this section is computed:

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

(2) Charges made for gas used and consumed by a public utility or governmental agency in the conduct of its business;

(3) Charges made by a gas public utility for gas used and consumed in the conduct of its business as a gas public utility; and

(4) Charges made for gas used in the propulsion of a motor vehicle.

(c) The tax imposed in this section shall be collected from the service user by the person selling or transporting the gas. A person selling only transportation services to a user for delivery of gas through mains or pipes shall collect the tax from the service user based on the transportation charges. The person selling or transporting the gas shall, on or before the 20th of each calendar month, commencing on September 20, 1992, make a return to the tax administrator stating the amount of taxes billed during the preceding calendar month. At the time such returns are filed, the person selling or transporting the gas shall remit tax payments to the tax administrator in accordance with schedules established or approved by the tax administrator.

(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, a service user receiving gas directly from the nonutility supplier, or otherwise not having the full tax due, billed and collected by the service supplier, shall report such fact to the tax administrator within 30 days of such use; and shall remit directly to the city the amount of such tax due.

(e) The tax administrator may require from such 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 prices, and quantity of gas used.

(f) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, the tax imposed under this section shall not exceed the sum of $600.00 for any 12-month period beginning July 1, and ending June 30 of the next succeeding year.

(Code 1960, § 20.64; Ord. No. 875, § 4, 9-3-92)

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, a service user receiving gas or electricity directly from a nonutility supplier not under the jurisdiction of this article, or otherwise not having the full tax due on the use of gas or electricity in the city directly billed and collected by the service supplier, shall report such fact to the tax administrator within 30 days of such use and shall directly remit to the city the amount of tax due.

(b) The tax administrator may require from such service user the filed tax returns or other satisfactory evidence documenting the sale price and quantity of gas used.

(Ord. No. 875, § 5(20.64A), 9-3-92)

(a) There is hereby imposed a tax upon every person using city water delivered through mains or pipes. The tax imposed by this section shall be at the rate of five percent of the charges made for such water and shall be paid by the person paying for such water.

(b) There shall be excluded from the base on which the tax imposed in this section is computed, charges made for water which is to be resold and delivered through mains or pipes; and 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 in the conduct of the business of such department, utility or district.

(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, the tax imposed under this section shall not exceed the sum of $600.00 for any 12-month period beginning July 1, and ending June 30 of the next succeeding year.

(Code 1960, § 20.65; Ord. No. 875, § 6, 9-3-92)

(a) There is hereby imposed a tax upon every person using cable television service in the city. The tax imposed by this section shall be at the rate of five percent of the charges made for such service and shall be paid by the person paying for such service.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, the tax imposed under this section shall not exceed the sum of $600.00 for any 12-month period beginning July 1, and ending June 30 of the next succeeding year.

(Code 1960, § 20.66)

(a) Every person receiving payment of charges from a service user shall collect the amount of tax imposed by this article from the service user.

(b) The tax shall be collected at the time as and along with the collection of charges made in accordance with the regular billing practice of the service supplier.

(c) 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 June 21, 1983. Where a person receives more than one billing, one or more being for different periods than another, the duty to collect shall arise separately for each billing period.

(Code 1960, § 20.68)

Each service supplier shall, on or before the last day of each month, make a return to the tax administrator, on forms provided 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 herein imposed is being levied and collected in accordance with this article. Returns and remittances are due immediately upon cessation of business for any reason.

(Code 1960, § 20.69)

(a) Taxes collected from a service user which are not remitted to the tax administrator on or before the due dates provided in this article are delinquent.

(b) Penalties for delinquency in remittance of any tax collected or any deficiency determination shall attach and be paid by the person required to collect and remit at the rate of ten percent of the total tax collected or imposed in this article.

(c) The tax administrator shall have power to impose additional penalties upon persons required to collect and remit taxes under the provisions of this article for fraud or negligence in reporting or remitting at the rate of ten percent of the amount of the tax collected or as recomputed by the tax administrator.

(d) Every penalty imposed under the provisions of this section shall become a part of the tax required to be remitted.

(Code 1960, § 20.70)

Any tax required to be paid by a service user under the provisions of this article shall be deemed a debt owed by the service user to the city. Any such tax collected from a service user which has not been remitted to the tax administrator shall be deemed a debt owed to the city by the person required to collect and remit. Any person owing money to the city under the provisions of this article shall be liable to an action brought in the name of the city for the recovery of such amount.

(Code 1960, § 20.71)

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 obligation to collect taxes due under this article from certain named service users for specified billing periods, the tax administrator shall notify the service user that he has assumed responsibility to collect the taxes due for the stated period and demand payment of such taxes. The notice shall be served on the service user by handing it to him personally or by deposit of the notice in the United States mail, postage prepaid thereon, addressed to the service user at the address to which billing was made by the service supplier; or should the service user have changed his address, to his last known address. If a service user fails to remit the tax to the tax administrator within 15 days from the date of the service of the notice upon him, which shall be the date of mailing if service is not accomplished in person, a penalty of 25 percent of the amount of the tax set forth in the notice shall be imposed, but not less than $5.00. The penalty shall become part of the tax required by this article to be paid.

(Code 1960, § 20.72)

(a) The tax administrator may make an assessment for taxes not paid or remitted by a person required to pay or remit. A notice of the assessment which shall refer briefly to the amount of the taxes and penalties imposed and the time and place when such assessment shall be submitted to the city council for confirmation or modification. The tax administrator shall mail a copy of such notice to the person selling the service and to the service user at least ten days prior to the date of the hearing and shall post such notice for at least five continuous days prior to the date of the hearing on the chamber door of the city council. Any interested party having any objections may appear and be heard at the hearing provided his objection is filed in writing with the tax administrator prior to the time set for the hearing.

(b) At the time fixed for considering such assessment, the city council shall hear the same together with any objection filed and thereupon may confirm or modify such assessment by motion.

(Code 1960, § 20.73)

It shall be the duty of every person required to collect and remit to the city any tax imposed by this article 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 any reasonable time.

(Code 1960, § 20.74)

(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 tax administrator under this article it may be refunded as provided in this section.

(b) A person required to collect and remit taxes imposed under this article may claim a refund or take as credit against taxes collected and remitted the amount overpaid, paid more than once or erroneously or illegally collected or received when it is established in a manner prescribed by the tax administrator that the service user from whom the tax has been collected did not owe the tax; provided, however, that neither a refund nor a credit shall be allowed unless the amount of the tax so collected has either been refunded to the service user or credited to charges subsequently payable by the service user to the person required to collect and remit.

(c) No refund shall be paid under the provisions of this section unless the claimant establishes the right thereto by written records showing entitlement thereto.

(d) A service user who desires to obtain the benefits of the maximum tax limitations in sections 66-88(e), 66-89(g), 66-90(f), 66-92(c) and 66-93(b) shall file a claim for refund with the tax administrator. The claimant may file the refund claim monthly or annually, whichever is most convenient. The claimant must also establish his right to a refund by written records or other relevant evidence. Upon establishment of the right to a refund, the tax administrator shall remit the approved refund within ten days to the claimant.

(e) A service user who desires to obtain the benefits of the exemption refund in section 66-87 shall file a claim for refund with the tax administrator. The claimant may file the refund claim monthly or annually, whichever is most convenient. The claimant must also establish his right to a refund by written records or other relevant evidence. Upon establishment of the right to a refund, the tax administrator shall remit the approved refund within ten days to the claimant.

(Code 1960, § 20.75)

The tax imposed by this article shall become imposed as of September 1, 1983, or at the beginning of the first regular billing period thereafter which would not include service prior to September 1, 1983.

(Code 1960, § 20.76)

The city council shall annually review the provisions of this article before the ensuing fiscal year begins and shall make a determination by resolution as to the financial necessity of continuing this article. Such annual review shall coincide with the public hearing held each year in consideration of the preliminary budget. Should a resolution not be adopted, the imposition of the taxes authorized by this article shall automatically cease.

(Code 1960, § 20.77)