The following words and phrases, when used in this article,
shall have, for the purposes of this article, the following respective
meanings except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
BEVERAGE
Alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages served as part of a
meal.
CATERER
A person who furnishes food on the premises of another for
compensation.
COMMISSIONER OF THE REVENUE
The Commissioner of the Revenue of Mathews County and any
of his or her duly authorized deputies, assistants, employees, or
agents.
FOOD
Any and all edible refreshments or nourishment, liquid or
otherwise, including alcoholic beverages and nonalcoholic beverages
served as part of a meal, meant for refreshment or nourishment value,
purchased in or from a restaurant, convenience store or from a caterer,
except for factory-packaged snack foods, whether consumed on the premises
or not.
PERSON
Any individual, corporation, company, association, firm,
partnership, or any group of individuals acting as a unit.
PURCHASER
Any person who purchases food in or from a restaurant or
from a caterer.
RESTAURANT
A.
Any place where food is prepared for service to the public,
whether on or off the premises;
B.
Any place where food is served to the public; or
C.
Any place or operation which prepares or stores food for distribution
to persons of the same business operation or of a related business
operation for service to the public.
D.
Examples include: dining room, grill, coffee shop, cafeteria,
cafe, snack bar, lunch counter, lunchroom, short-order place, tavern,
delicatessen, confectionery, bakery, eating house, eatery, drugstore,
catering service, lunch wagon or truck, pushcart or other mobile facility
that sells food, and dining facilities in a public or private club,
resort, bar or lounge, restaurant, convenience store, theatre, and
ice cream/yogurt shops.
SELLER
Any person who sells food or beverages in or from a restaurant
or as a caterer, and who is required to collect, report, and remit
the tax due pursuant to this article.
SNACK FOOD
Chewing gum, candy, popcorn, peanuts and other nuts, and
unopened prepackaged cookies, donuts, crackers, potato chips, and
other items of essentially the same nature and consumed for essentially
the same purpose.
TREASURER
The Treasurer of Mathews County and any of his or her duly
authorized deputies, assistants, employees, or agents.
In addition to all other taxes and fees of any kind now or hereafter
imposed by law, a tax is hereby levied and imposed on the purchaser
of all food and beverages served, sold, or delivered for human consumption
in the county in or from a restaurant, whether prepared in such restaurant
or not, or prepared by a caterer. Grocery stores and convenience stores
selling prepared foods ready for human consumption at a delicatessen
counter shall also be subject to said tax, but the application of
same shall be limited to such prepared foods. No such tax shall be
imposed on any entity or activity exempted from same by § 58.1-3833A
of the Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended, as well as any other sale
of food which is exempt from taxation under the Virginia Retail Sales
and Use Tax Act, or administrative rules and regulations issued pursuant
thereto. The rate of this tax shall be 4% of the amount paid for such
food. In the computation of this tax, any fraction of $0.005 or more
shall be treated as $0.01, while fractions of less than $0.005 in
sales price shall not be collected.
Every seller of food with respect to which a tax is levied under
this article shall collect the amount of tax imposed under this article
from the purchaser on whom the same is levied at the time payment
for such food becomes due and payable, whether payment is to be made
in cash, check, or on credit by means of a credit card or otherwise.
The seller shall separately state the amount of such tax, and the
amount of tax owed by the purchaser shall be added to the cost of
the food by the seller, who shall pay the taxes collected to the County
as provided in this article. Taxes collected by the seller shall be
held in trust by the seller until remitted to the County.
Every seller of food with respect to which a tax is levied under
this article shall make out a report upon such forms and setting forth
such information as the Commissioner of the Revenue may prescribe
and require, showing the amount of food charges collected and the
tax required to be collected, and shall sign and deliver such report
to the Treasurer with a remittance of such tax. Such reports and remittance
shall be made on or before the 20th day of each month, covering the
amount of tax collected during the preceding month.
It shall be the duty of any seller of food liable for collection
and remittance of the taxes imposed by this article to keep and preserve
for a period of three years records showing gross sales of all food
and beverages, the amount charged the purchaser of each such purchase,
the date thereof, the date of payment thereof, the taxes collected
thereon and the amount of tax required to be collected by this article.
The Commissioner of the Revenue shall have the power to examine such
records at reasonable times and without unreasonable interference
with the business of the seller for the purpose of administering and
enforcing the provisions of this article and to make copies of all
or any parts thereon.
No seller shall advertise or hold out to the public in any manner,
directly or indirectly, that all or any part of the tax imposed under
this article will be paid or absorbed by the seller or anyone else
or that the seller or anyone else will relieve the purchaser of the
payment of all or any part of the tax.
Whenever any seller required to collect or pay to the County
a tax under this article shall cease to operate or otherwise dispose
of his business, any tax payable under this article shall become immediately
due and payable, and such person shall immediately make a report and
pay the tax due.
The Commissioner of the Revenue shall promulgate rules and regulations
for the interpretation, administration, and enforcement of this article.
It shall also be the duty of the Commissioner of the Revenue to ascertain
the name of every seller liable for the collection of the tax imposed
by this article who fails, refuses, or neglects to collect such tax
or to make the reports and remittances required by this article. The
Commissioner of the Revenue shall have all of the enforcement powers
as authorized by Title 58.1, Chapter 31, Article 1, of the Code of
Virginia, 1950, as amended, for purposes of this article.
If any seller whose duty it is to do so shall fail or refuse
to collect the tax imposed under this article and to make, within
the time provided in this article, the reports and remittances mentioned
in this article, the Commissioner of the Revenue shall proceed in
such manner as he or she may deem best to obtain facts and information
on which to base his or her estimate of the tax due. As soon as the
Commissioner of the Revenue shall procure such facts and information
as he or she is able to obtain upon which to base the assessment of
any tax payable by any seller who has failed or refused to collect
such tax and to make such report and remittance, he or she shall proceed
to determine and assess against such seller the tax, interest and
penalties provided for by this article and shall notify such seller,
by certified or registered mail sent to his or her last known place
of address, of the total amount of such tax penalties and interest,
and the total amount thereof shall be payable within 10 days from
the date such notice is sent.
The Treasurer shall have the power and the duty of collecting
the taxes imposed and levied hereunder and shall cause the same to
be paid into the general treasury for the County.
If any seller whose duty it is to do so shall fail or refuse
to file any report required by this article or to remit to the Treasurer
the tax required to be collected and paid under this article within
the time and in the amount specified in this article, there shall
be added to such tax by the Treasurer a penalty in the amount of $10
or 10% thereof of the tax which has not been timely collected and/or
remitted to the County, whichever amount is greater, and interest
thereon at the rate of 10% per annum, which shall be computed upon
the taxes and penalty due on the first day of the calendar month following
the month in which such taxes became due and payable, which interest
shall be payable by the seller whose duty it is to collect, report
and remit the tax. An additional penalty at the same rate shall be
added for each additional 30 days or fraction thereof during which
such tax is not duly remitted to the County; provided, however, that
the total aggregate penalties shall not exceed the amount of the tax
due.
Pursuant to the authority of § 58.1-3816.1 of the Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended, the County hereby allows any and all businesses charged with the collection of this tax a commission for such service. Such commission shall be 2.5% of the amount of tax due and accounted for, and such commission shall be deducted from the tax remitted. No commission shall be allowed if the amount of tax due was not remitted to the Treasurer prior to the time limit specified in §
145-93 of this article.
The revenues collected from the tax shall be designated to a
capital improvement fund for Mathews County, Mathews County schools
and public safety purchases and projects.