This ordinance shall be known as the Utility Users Tax Ordinance and the taxes imposed hereunder may be collectively referred to as the Utility Users Tax.
(Ord. 1223 C.S. § 1, 1995)
Except where the context otherwise requires, the definitions in Municipal Code § 1.04.010 and the following definitions shall govern the construction of this Chapter:
B. "City council"
means the City Council of the City of Martinez.
C. "Electrical corporation,"
shall have the same meaning as defined in Public Utilities Code § 218 and shall also include any public agency or person engaged in the selling or supplying of electrical power to a service user.
E. "Gas corporation"
shall have the same meanings as defined in Public Utilities Code § 222 and shall also include any public agency or person engaged in the selling or supplying of gas to a service user.
F. "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.
G. "Service supplier"
means any person required to collect or self-impose, collect and remit to the City the Utility Users Tax.
H. "Service user"
means a person required to pay the Utility Users Tax.
I. "Tax administrator"
means the Finance Director of the City or designee.
J. "Telephone corporation"
shall have the same meanings as defined in Public Utilities Code § 234.
K. "Cellular telephone carrier"
means a carrier which provides cellular telephone service.
L. "Video services"
shall mean any and all services related to the providing of video programming (including origination programming), or communications (including two-way communications), regardless of the content of the video programming or communications, and shall include the leasing of channel access.
M. "Video services provider"
shall mean any person who provides one or more channels of video programming or communications (including the leasing of channel access to provide such video programming or communications) to an address in the City, including to a business, home, condominium or apartment, where some fee is paid, whether directly or as included in dues or rental charges for that service, whether or not public rights-of-way are utilized in the delivery of the video programming or communications. A "Video Service Provider" includes, but is not limited to, multichannel video programming distributors (as defined in 47 U.S.C. § 522(12), providers of cable television, master antenna television, satellite master antenna television, direct broadcast satellite, multichannel multipoint distribution services, and other providers of video programming or communications (including two-way communications), whatever their technology.
N. "Water corporation"
shall have the same meanings as defined in Public Utilities Code § 241 and shall also include any public agency or person engaged in the selling or supplying of water to a service user.
(Ord. 1223 C.S. § 1, 1995)
The purpose of this chapter is to impose a utility users tax as a revenue measure necessary to pay the usual and current expenses of conducting the municipal government of the City, the proceeds of which shall be paid to the General Fund of the City.
(Ord. 1223 C.S. § 1, 1995)
A.
There is hereby imposed a tax on the amounts paid for any intrastate telephone communication services by every person in the City using such services (the "Telephone Users Tax"). The Telephone Users Tax shall be at the rate of three and a quarter percent (3.25%) of the charges made for such services and shall be paid by the person paying for such services. 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 telephone communication service originates and/or terminates within the City.
B.
As used in this section, "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; 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.
C.
As used in this section, "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; provided, however, that the term "telephone communication services" shall not include land mobile service or maritime mobile services as defined in Section 2.1 of Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as said section existed on January 1, 1970.
D.
The Telephone Users Tax 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 (1) 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.
E.
Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (A), the Telephone Users Tax 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 Division 2, Part 20 of the California Revenue and Taxation Code, or the tax imposed under Section 4251 of the Internal Revenue Code.
(Ord. 1223 C.S. § 1, 1995)
A.
There is hereby imposed a tax on the amounts paid for basic service charges for every person residing and/or who has a place of business in the City using cellular telephone services. The tax imposed by this section is three and quarter percent (3.25%) of such basic charges, and shall be paid by the person paying for such services.
B.
"Basic service charges" shall mean the amounts billed by a cellular telephone company to customers for the privilege of having the service. This term does not include the amounts billed by a cellular telephone company for actual calls made or received.
C.
The tax imposed by this section shall be collected from the service users by the person providing the cellular telephone services, or the person receiving payment for such services. The amount of the tax collected in one (1) 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.
(Ord. 1223 C.S. § 1, 1995)
A.
There is hereby imposed a tax upon every person using electrical energy in the City (the "Electricity Users Tax"). The Electricity Users Tax shall be at the rate of three and quarter percent (3.25%) of the charges made for such energy by an electrical corporation providing service in the City and shall be billed to and paid by the person using the energy.
B.
As used in this section, "charges" 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 California Public Utilities Commission or the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
C.
As used in this section, "using electrical energy" shall not include: (1) the storage of such energy by a person in a battery owned or possessed by such person for use in an automobile or other machinery device apart from the premises upon which the energy was received; provided, however, that such term shall include the receiving of such energy for the purpose of using it in the charging of batteries; (2) electricity used and consumed by an electric utility supplier in the conduct of its business; (3) the mere receiving of such energy by an electric corporation or governmental agency at a point within the City for resale; and (4) the use of suck energy in the production or distribution of water by a water utility or a governmental agency.
D.
The Electricity Users Tax shall be collected from the service user by the person supplying the electrical energy. The Electricity Users Tax imposed on electrical energy supplied by a supplier not subject to the jurisdiction of this chapter, shall be collected and remitted to the Tax Administrator in the manner set forth in Section 3.20.080. The amount of tax collected by a service 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. The amount of the tax remitted may be estimated by a formula based upon the payment pattern of the supplier's customers.
E.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a service user 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 said tax due.
F.
The tax administrator may require from said service user the filing of tax returns or other satisfactory evidence documenting the sale price, or fair market value in the absence of a sales price, and quantity of electricity used.
(Ord. 1223 C.S. § 1, 1995)
A.
There is hereby imposed a tax upon every person in the City other than a gas corporation or electrical corporation, using, in the City, gas which is transported through mains or pipes or by mobile transport or by rail (the "Gas Users Tax"). The Gas Users Tax shall be at the rate of three and a quarter percent (3.25%) of the charges made for the gas and shall be billed to and paid by the person using the gas.
B.
"Charges" as used in this section shall include: (1) charges billed for gas which is delivered through mains or pipes; (2) gas transportation charges; and (3) demand charges, service charges, customer charges, minimum charges, annual and monthly charges, any other charge authorized by the California Public Utilities Commission or the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
C.
The Gas Users Tax is not applicable to: (1) charges made for gas which is to be resold and delivered through mains and pipes or by rail; (2) charges made for gas sold by a public utility for use in the generation of electrical energy or for the production or distribution of water; (3) charges made by a gas public utility or gas used and consumed in the course of its public utility business; and (4) charges made for gas used in the propulsion of a motor vehicle, as authorized in the Vehicle Code of the State of California.
D.
The Gas Users Tax 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 the 20th of each calendar month after the effective date of this ordinance, 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.
E.
The Tax Administrator may require from service user the filing of tax returns or other satisfactory evidence documenting the sale price, or fair market value in the absence of a sales price, and quantity of gas used.
(Ord. 1223 C.S. § 1, 1995)
A.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a service user receiving gas or electricity directly from a supplier not under the jurisdiction of this ordinance, 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 said fact to the Tax Administrator within thirty days of said use and shall directly remit to the City the amount of tax due.
B.
The Tax Administrator may require said service user to provide, subject to audit, filed tax returns or other satisfactory evidence documenting the quantity of gas or electricity used and the price thereof.
(Ord. 1223 C.S. § 1, 1995)
A.
There is hereby imposed a tax upon every person using water in the City which is delivered through mains or pipes ("Water Users Tax"). The Water Users Tax shall be at the rate of three and a quarter percent (3.25%) 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 Water Users Tax 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 City or municipal water district for water used and consumed by such department, utility or district.
C.
The Water Users Tax shall be collected from the service user by the person supplying the water. The amount collected in one (1) month shall be remitted to the Tax Administrator on or before the last day of the following month.
(Ord. 1223 C.S. § 1, 1995)
A.
There is hereby imposed a tax upon every person in the City using video services from a video services provider. The tax imposed by this section shall be at the rate of three and quarter percent (3.25%) of the charges made for such service and shall be paid by the person paying for such services.
B.
"Charges" as used in this section shall include charges for leased access channels and origination programming which are transmitted to video service users in the City and shall also include the value of any other services, credits, property of every kind or nature, or other consideration provided by the video service user in exchange for video services.
C.
The tax imposed in this section shall be collected from the service user by the person furnishing the video service. The amount collected in one (1) month shall be remitted to the Tax Administrator on or before the last day of the following month.
(Ord. 1223 C.S. § 1, 1995)
A.
Any individual who qualifies as a "claimant" under the Gonsalves-Deukmejian-Petris Senior Citizens Property Tax Assistance Law. (Chapter 1, commencing with Section 20501, of Part 10.5 of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code of the State of California) shall be exempt from the tax imposed by this chapter and any such tax paid by any such individual is subject to refund under Section 3.20.170.
B.
Persons who are qualified under the Low Income Rate Assistance ("LIRA") program of Pacific Gas and Electric Company, and persons who are qualified under the Lifeline program of the telephone corporation shall be exempt in whole from paying the gas, electrical, and Telephone Users Taxes imposed by this chapter.
C.
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as imposing a tax upon any person when imposition of such tax upon that person would be in violation of the state or federal constitutions.
D.
The City Council may, by order or resolution, establish one or more classes of persons or one or more classes of utility service otherwise subject to payment of the Utility Users Tax and provide that such classes of persons or service shall be exempt, in whole or in part, from such tax.
E.
The Tax Administrator shall prepare a list of the persons exempt from the provisions of this chapter by virtue of this section and furnish a copy thereof to each service supplier.
(Ord. 1223 C.S. § 1, 1995)
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 are delinquent. Should the due date occur on a weekend or legal holiday, the return may be postmarked on the first regular working day following a Saturday/Sunday, or legal holiday.
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 fifteen percent (15%) of the total tax collected or imposed in this section.
C.
The tax administrator shall have the power to impose additional penalties upon any person required to collect and remit taxes under the provisions of this chapter for fraud or negligence in reporting or remitting at a rate of fifteen percent of the amount of the tax collected or as recomputed by the tax administrator.
D.
Every penalty imposed under the provisions of this chapter shall become a part of the tax required to be remitted.
(Ord. 1223 C.S. § 1, 1995)
Any Utility Users Tax required to be paid by a service user shall be deemed a debt owed by the service user to the City. Any such tax collected from a service user which has willfully 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 owing money to the City under this chapter shall be liable to an action brought in the name of the City for the recovery of such amount.
(Ord. 1223 C.S. § 1, 1995)
The duty to collect and remit the Utility Users Tax shall be performed as follows:
A.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the Utility Users Tax shall be collected insofar as practicable at the same time as and along with the charges made in accordance with the regular billing practices of the service supplier. Where the amount paid by a service user to a service supplier is less than the full amount of the service 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 utility charge first until such charge has been fully satisfied. Any remaining balance shall be applied to taxes due. In those cases where a service user has notified the service supplier of his refusal to pay the tax imposed on said energy charges, Section 3.20.160(B) will apply.
B.
The duty to collect the Utility Users Tax from a service user shall commence with the beginning of the first full regular billing period applicable to the service user where all charges normally included in such regular billing are subject to the provisions of this chapter. 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. The amount of the tax remitted may be estimated by a formula based upon the payment pattern of the supplier's customers.
(Ord. 1223 C.S. § 1, 1995)
A.
The Tax Administrator shall have the power and duty, and is hereby directed to enforce each and all of the provisions of this chapter.
B.
The Tax Administrator shall have the power to adopt rules and regulations not inconsistent with provisions of this chapter for the purpose of carrying out and enforcing the payment, collection and remittance of the Utility Users Tax. A copy of such rules and regulations shall be on file at City Hall.
C.
The Tax Administrator may make agreements, subject to City Council approval, to vary the strict requirements of this chapter so that collection of the Utility Users Tax may be made in conformance with the billing procedures of a particular service supplier, so long as said agreements result in collection of the Utility Users Tax in conformance with the general purpose and scope of this chapter. Such agreements can only be made if one or both of the following criteria are met:
D.
The Tax Administrator shall determine the eligibility of any person who asserts a right to exemption from the Utility Users Tax. The Tax Administrator shall provide the service supplier with the name of any person who the Tax Administrator determines is exempt from the Utility Users Tax, together with the address and account number to which service is supplied to any such exempt person. The Tax Administrator shall notify the service supplier of termination of any person's right to exemption hereunder, or the change of any address to which service is supplied to any exempt person.
E.
The Tax Administrator shall provide notice to all service suppliers, at least 90 days prior to any annexation or other change in the City's boundaries. Said notice shall set forth the revised boundaries by street and address, along with a copy of the final annexation order from LAFCO.
(Ord. 1223 C.S. § 1, 1995)
A.
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 person required to collect the tax, or that a service user has refused to pay the amount of tax, such person may be relieved of the obligation to collect the tax from certain named service users for specified billing periods as set forth below.
B.
The service supplier shall provide the City with amounts refused and/or unpaid along with the names and addresses of the service users neglecting to pay the Utility Users Tax. Whenever the service user has failed to pay the Utility Users Tax for a period of two or more billing periods, the service supplier shall be relieved of the obligation to collect such taxes due.
C.
The Tax Administrator shall notify the service user that the Tax Administrator 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 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 person required to collect the tax; or, should the service user's address change, to the last known address. If a service user fails to remit the tax to the Tax Administrator within fifteen (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 fifteen percent (15%) 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 herein required to be paid.
(Ord. 1223 C.S. § 1, 1995)
It shall be the duty of every person required to collect and remit to the City the Utility Users Tax to keep and preserve, for a period of three (3) years, all records as may be necessary to determine the amount of such tax as he or she may have been liable for the remittance to the Tax Administrator, which records the Tax Administrator shall have the right to inspect at all reasonable times.
(Ord. 1223 C.S. § 1, 1995)
A.
Whenever the amount of city tax has been overpaid or paid more than once or has been erroneously or illegally collected or received by the Tax Administrator under this chapter, it may be refunded as provided in this section.
B.
Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (A) of this section, a service supplier may claim a refund; or take as credit against taxes remitted the amount overpaid, paid more than once, or erroneously or illegally collected or received when it is established 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 erroneously or illegally 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. A service supplier that has collected any amount of tax in excess of the amount of the Utility Users Tax and actually due from a service user, may refund such amount to the service user and claim credit for such overpayment against the amount of tax which is due upon any other monthly returns, provided such credit is claimed in a return dated no later than three (3) years from the date of overpayment.
C.
Notwithstanding 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 Utility Users Tax on the amount of such refunded charges shall also be refunded to service users, 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 returns. In the event this chapter is repealed, the amounts of any refundable taxes will be borne by the City.
D.
A service supplier may refund the taxes collected to the service user in accordance with this section or by the service supplier's customary practices.
(Ord. 1223 C.S. § 1, 1995)
The service supplier shall, upon notification from the City, terminate or suspend any Utility Users Tax commencing with the first full billing period which occurs after the effective date of such action by the City Council.
(Ord. 1223 C.S. § 1, 1995)
This chapter will expire and be of no further force or effect at the end of twenty four (24) months from the date it takes effect.
(Ord. 1223 C.S. § 1, 7/24/1995)