[Added 6-20-2000]
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:
The furnishing of food, beverages, or both on the premises
of another, for compensation.
The Treasurer or designee.
All food, beverages or both, including alcoholic beverages,
purchased in, at, or from a food establishment, whether prepared in
such food establishment or not, and whether consumed on the premises
or not, and without regard to the manner, time or place of service.
Any place in or from which food or food products are prepared,
packaged, sold or distributed in the Town of Louisa, including, but
not limited to, any restaurant, dining room, grill, coffee shop, cafeteria,
cafe, snack bar, lunch counter, convenience store, movie theater,
delicatessen, confectionery, bakery, eating house, eatery, drugstore,
ice cream/yogurt shops, lunch wagon or truck, pushcart or other mobile
facility from which food is sold, public or private club, resort,
bar, lounge, or other similar establishment, public or private, and
shall include private property outside of and contiguous to a building
or structure operated as a food establishment at which food or food
products are sold for immediate consumption.
Any prepared food or drink offered or held out for sale by
a food establishment for the purpose of being consumed by any person
to satisfy the appetite and ready for immediate consumption. All such
food and beverage, unless otherwise specifically exempted or excluded
herein, shall be included, whether intended to be consumed on the
seller's premises or elsewhere, whether designated as breakfast, lunch,
snack, dinner, supper or by some other name, and without regard to
the manner, time or place of service.
The Treasurer of the Town of Louisa and any duly designated
deputies, assistants, inspectors or other employees.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
There is hereby imposed and levied by the Town
of Louisa on each person a tax at the rate of 5.5% on the amount paid
for meals purchased from any food establishment, whether prepared
in such food establishment or not, and whether consumed on the premises
or not. There shall be no tax if the total amount paid is $0.50 or
less; on larger amounts, a fractional cent of tax shall be rounded
to the next higher cent. The tax shall be collected in the manner
and at the time prescribed by this article.
A.
Every person receiving any payment for food with respect
to which a tax is levied hereunder shall collect and remit the amount
of the tax imposed by this article from the person on whom the same
is levied or from the person paying for such food at the time payment
for such food is made; provided, however, no blind person operating
a vending stand or other business enterprise under the jurisdiction
of the Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired and located on
property acquired and used by the United States for any military or
naval purpose shall be required to collect or remit such taxes.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
B.
All tax collections shall be deemed to be held in
trust for the Town of Louisa.
A.
The tax imposed under this article shall not be levied
on factory-prepackaged candy, gum, nuts and other items of essentially
the same nature served for on- or off-premises consumption.
B.
The tax imposed under this article shall not be levied
on the following items when served exclusively for off-premises consumption:
(1)
Donuts, ice cream, crackers, nabs, chips, cookies
and factory-prepackaged items of essentially the same nature.
(2)
Food sold in bulk. For the purposes of this provision,
a “bulk sale” shall mean the sale of any item that would
exceed the normal, customary and usual portion sold for on-premises
consumption (e.g., a whole cake, a gallon of ice cream); a bulk sale
shall not include any food or beverage that is catered or delivered
by a food establishment for off-premises consumption.
(3)
Alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages sold in factory-sealed
containers.
(4)
Any food or food product purchased with food coupons
issued by the United States Department of Agriculture under the Food
Stamp Program or drafts issued through the Virginia Special Supplemental
Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children.
(5)
Any food or food product purchased for home consumption as defined in the federal Food Stamp Act of 1977, 7 U.S.C. § 2012, as amended, except hot food or hot food products ready for immediate consumption. For the purposes of administering the tax levied hereunder, the following items, whether or not purchased for immediate consumption, are excluded from the said definition of food in the federal Food Stamp Act: sandwiches, salad bar items sold from a salad bar, prepackaged single-serving salads consisting primarily of an assortment of vegetables, and non-factory-sealed beverages. This subsection shall not affect provisions set forth in Subsection D(3), (4) and (5) hereinbelow.
C.
A grocery store, supermarket or convenience store
shall not be subject to the tax except for any portion or section
therein designated as a delicatessen or designated for the sale of
prepared food and beverages.
D.
The tax imposed hereunder shall not be levied on the
following purchases of food and beverages:
(1)
Food and beverages furnished by food establishments
to employees as part of their compensation when no charge is made
to the employee.
(2)
Food and beverages sold by day-care centers, public
or private elementary or secondary schools or food sold by any college
or university to its students or employees.
(3)
Food and beverages for use or consumption and which
are paid for directly by the commonwealth, any political subdivision
of the commonwealth or the United States.
(4)
Food and beverages furnished by a hospital, medical
clinic, convalescent home, nursing home, home for the aged, infirm,
handicapped, battered women, narcotic addicts or alcoholics, or other
extended-care facility to patients or residents thereof and the spouses
and children of such persons.
(5)
Food and beverages furnished by a public or private
nonprofit charitable organization or establishment or a private establishment
that contracts with the appropriate agency of the commonwealth to
offer meals at concession prices to elderly, infirm, blind, handicapped
or needy persons in their homes or at central locations.
(6)
By volunteer fire departments and volunteer emergency
medical services agencies; nonprofit churches or other religious bodies;
or educational, charitable, fraternal, or benevolent organizations,
the first three times per calendar year and, beginning with the fourth
time, on the first $100,000 of gross receipts per calendar year from
sales of meals (excluding gross receipts from the first three times),
as a fund-raising activity, the gross proceeds of which are to be
used by such church, religious body or organization exclusively for
nonprofit educational, charitable, benevolent, or religious purposes.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
(7)
Food and beverages sold through vending machines.
A.
Where a purchaser provides a gratuity for an employee
of a seller, and the amount of the gratuity is wholly in the discretion
of the purchaser, the gratuity is not subject to the tax imposed by
this article, whether paid in cash to the employee or added to the
bill and charged to the purchaser's account, provided, in the latter
case, the full amount of the gratuity is turned over to the employee
by the seller.
B.
No such taxes on meals may be imposed on that portion
of the amount paid by the purchaser as a mandatory gratuity or service
charge added by the restaurant in addition to the sales price of the
meal, but only to the extent that such mandatory gratuity or service
charge does not exceed 20% of the sales price.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
It shall be the duty of every person required
by this article to pay to the Town of Louisa the taxes imposed by
this article to make a report thereof setting forth such information
as the Treasurer may prescribe and require, including all purchases
taxable under this article, the amount charged the purchaser for each
such purchase, the date thereof, the taxes collected thereon and the
amount of tax required to be collected by this article. Such records
shall be kept and preserved for a period of five years. The Treasurer
or his duly authorized agents shall have the power to examine such
records, at reasonable times and without unreasonable interference
with the business of such person, for the purpose of administering
and enforcing the provisions of this article, and to make transcripts
of all or any parts thereof.
A.
Any person willfully failing or refusing to file a
return as required under this article shall, upon conviction thereof,
be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor, except that any person failing
to file such a return shall be guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor if
the amount of tax lawfully assessed in connection with the return
is $1,000 or less. Any person violating or failing to comply with
any other provision of this article shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
B.
Except as provided in Subsection A above, any corporate or partnership officer, as defined in Virginia Code § 58.1-3906, or any other person required to collect, account for, or pay over the meals tax imposed under this article, who willfully fails to collect or truthfully account for or pay over such tax, or who willfully evades or attempts to evade such tax or payment thereof, shall, in addition to any other penalties imposed by law, be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
C.
Each violation of or failure to comply with this article
shall constitute a separate offense. Conviction of any such violation
shall not relieve any person from the payment, collection or remittance
of the tax as provided in this article.
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 payment of all or any of the tax.
Whenever any seller required to collect and
remit and pay to the Town the tax imposed under this article shall
cease to operate, go out of business, 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 to
the Treasurer and pay the tax due to the Treasurer.
For the purpose of compensating the sellers
for the collection of the tax imposed by this article, every seller
shall be allowed 3% of the amount of the tax due and accounted for
in the form of a deduction on his monthly return, provided the amount
due is not delinquent at the time of payment.
It shall be the duty of the Town Treasurer to
ascertain the name of every seller liable for collection and remittance
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 Town Treasurer shall have all the enforcement
powers as authorized by Chapter 39 of Title 58.1 of the Code of Virginia
for the purposes of this article. The Town Treasurer may have issued
a summons for such person who fails, neglects or refuses to collect
such tax imposed by this article, and the summons may be served upon
such person by any Town police officer in the manner provided by law.
One return of the original summons shall be made to the General District
Court with jurisdiction over matters arising within the Town.
If any seller, whose duty it is to do so, shall
fail, neglect or refuse to collect the tax imposed under this article
and/or to make, within the time provided in this article, the report
and remittances mentioned in this article, the Treasurer shall proceed
in such manner as he/she may deem best to obtain facts and information
on which to base his/her estimate of the tax due. As soon as the Treasurer
shall procure such facts and information as he/she is able to obtain
upon which to base the assessment of any tax payable by any seller
who has failed, neglected or refused to collect such tax and to make
such report and remittance, the Treasurer shall proceed to determine
and assess against such seller the tax, penalties and interest provided
for in this article and shall notify such seller, by registered mail
sent to the seller's last known place of address, of the total amount
of such tax, penalties and interest. The total amount thereof shall
be payable within 10 days from the date such notice is mailed.
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 of the Town.
A.
If any seller whose duty it is to do so shall fail,
neglect 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% of the total amount of the tax owed, or a minimum of
$10, whichever is greater; provided that no penalty shall exceed the
amount of the tax due. The Town Treasurer shall also assess interest
upon the tax and penalty at the rate of 10% per annum from the date
after the tax is due to the date of payment.
B.
In the case of a fraudulent return with intent to
defraud the Town of any tax due under this article, a penalty of 50%
of the tax shall be assessed against the person required to collect
such tax.
All reports and remittances required by this
article shall be made on or before the 20th day of each month, covering
the amount of tax collected during the preceding month. The Treasurer
may require all prospective sellers of food or meals subject to the
provisions of this article and licensed to do business in the Town
to register for the collection of the tax imposed by this article.
