HomeMy Public PortalAboutOrdinance 5851
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ORDINANCE NO. 585
AN URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF BEAUMONT,
CALIFORNIA ESTABLISHING A UTILITY TAX OF ONE PERCENT
(1%) UPON TELEPHONE, ELECTRIC, GAS AND CABLE T.V.
UTILITY USERS
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BEAUMONT DOES ORDAIN AS
FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1: There is hereby established a one percent (1%)
utility user tax for the purpose of providing general fund operating
funds for use by the City of Beaumont.
SECTION 2: DEFINITIONS. The following words and phrases,
whenever used in this Ordinance, shall be construed as defined in
this section.
(a) "Person" shall mean any domestic or foreign corpora-
tion, firm, association, syndicate, joint stock company, partnership
or any kind, joint venture, club, Massachusetts business or common
law trust, society or individuals.
(b) "City" shall mean the City of Beaumont.
(c) "Telephone corporation", "Electrical corporation",
"Gas corporation" and "Cable Television corporation" shall have the
same meanings as defined in Section 234, 218, 222, 241 and 215-5,
respectively, of the Public Utilities Code of the State of Califor-
nia as said sections existed on January 1, 1975. "Electrical
corporation" shall be construed to include any municipality or
franchised agency engaged in the selling or supplying of electrical
power to a service user.
(d) "Tax Administrator" shall mean the Finance Director of
the City of Beaumont.
(e) "Service supplier" shall mean a utility company which
receives taxes paid and remits same as imposed by this Ordinance.
(f) "Service user" shall mean a person required to pay a
tax imposed by this Ordinance.
(g) "Month" shall mean a calendar month.
SECTION 3: CONSTITUTIONAL AND OTHER EXEMPTIONS. Nothing
in this Ordinance shall be construed as imposing a tax upon any
person when imposition of such tax upon that person would be in
violation of the Constitution of the United States or that of the
State of California.
(a) A household with a combined annual gross income of
•$5,500.00 or less is eligible for exemption or refund when applica-
tion is made pursuant to Section 11(d) and Section 14(f).
(b) 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.
SECTION 4: TELEPHONE USERS TAX.
(a) There is hereby imposed a tax on the amounts paid for
any intrastate telephone services by every person in the City using
such services. The tax imposed by this section shall be at the rate
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of one percent (1%) 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; nor shall
the term "charges" include charges for any type of service or equip-
ment 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 regulations, nor
shall the words "telephone communication service" 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 January 1, 1970. The term "telephone communication
services" refers to that service which provides access to a tele-
phone 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 tele-
phone 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 the amount of 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.
(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection (a), 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 sub-
ject 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.
(e) The maximum telephone users tax payable by any service
user for an individual service shall be One Thousand Dollars
($1,000) per month. Any telephone service user paying One Thousand
Dollars ($1,000) per month may contract with the City for direct
payment of the tax.
SECTION 5: ELECTRICITY USERS TAX.
(a) There is hereby imposed a tax upon every person in the
City using electrical energy in the City. The tax imposed by this
Section shall be at the rate of one percent (1%) of the charges made
for such energy and shall be paid by the person paying for such
energy. "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, stand-
by charges and annual and monthly charges, fuel cost adjustments,
etc.
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(b) 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; nor shall the term include electricity
used and consumed by an electric utility supplier in the conduct of
its business as an electric public utility; nor shall the term
include mere receiving of such energy by an electric public utility
or governmental agency at a point within the City of Beaumont for
resale; or the use of such energy in the aroduction or distribution
of water by a public utility or a governmental agency.
(c) The tax unposed in this Section shall be collected
from the service user by the person supplying such energy. The
amount of 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, 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.
Remittance of tax may be predicated on a formula based
upon the payment pattern of the supplier's customers.
(d) The maximum electricity users tax payable by any ser-
vice user for an individual service shall be One Thousand Dollars
($1,000) per month. Any electricity service user paying One Thou-
sand Dollars ($1,000) per month may contract with. the City for
direct payment of the tax.
SECTION 6. GAS USERS TAX.
(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 delivered through mains or pipes. The tax
imposed by this Section shall be at the rate of one percent (1%) of
the charges made for such gas and shall be paid by the person paying
for such gas. "Charges" as used in this Section shall include:
(1) gas which is delivered through mains or pipes; (2) minimum
charges for such services, including customer charges, service
charges and annual and monthly charges.
(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 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; (4) charges made for gas used in the propulsion of a
motor vehicle, as that phrase is defined in the Vehicle Code of the
State of California, utilizing natural gas; and (5) charges related
to late payments and returned checks.
(c) The tax imposed in this Section shall be collected
from the service user by the person selling the gas. The person
selling the gas shall, on or before the 20th of each calendar month,
commencing on the 20th day of the calendar month after the effective
date of this part, 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 the gas shall
remit tax payments to the Tax Administrator in accordance with
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schedules established or approved by the Tax Administrator.
(d) The maximum gas users tax payable by any service user
for an individual service shall be One Thousand Dollars ($1,000) per
month. Any gas service user paying One Thousand Dollars ($1,000)
per month may contract with the City for direct payment of the tax.
SECTION 7: CABLE TELEVISION USERS TAX.
(a) There is hereby imposed a tax upon every person in the
City using cable television service. The tax imposed by this
Section shall be at the rate of one percent (1%) of the charges made
for such service and shall be paid by the person paying for such
service.
(b) The tax unposed in this Section shall be collected
from the service user by the person furnishing the cable television
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.
(c) The maximum cable television users tax payable by any
service user for an individual service shall be One Thousand Dollars
($1,000) per month. Any cabie television service user paying One
Thousand Dollars ($1,000) per month may contract with the City for
direct payment of the tax.
SECTION 8: INTEREST AND PENALTY.
(a) Taxes collected from a service user which are not re-
mitted to the Tax Administrator on or before the due dates provided
in this Ordinance are delinquent.
(b) The interest penalty shall be the same as specified in
Section 12, Paragraph d - Administrative Remedy Penalty.
SECTION 9: ACTIONS TO COLLECT. Any such tax received from
a service user which has willfully been withheld from the Tax Ad-
ministrator shall be deemed a debt owed to the City by the person
required to collect and remit. Any person holding such money con-
trary to the provisions of this Ordinance shall be liable to an
action brought in the nacre of the City for the recovery of such
amount.
SECTION 10: DUTY TO COLLECT - PROCEDURES. The duty to
collect and remit the taxes imposed by this Ordinance shall be per-
formed as follows:
(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 6(c) the 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 ser-
vice user to a service supplier 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 utility charges 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 charge
Section 12(c) will apply.
(b) The duty to collect 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
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in such regular billing are subject to the provisions of this
Ordinance. 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.
SECTION 11: ADDITIONAL POWER AND DUTIES OF TAX ADMINISTRA-
TOR.
(a) The Tax Administrator shall have the power and duty,
and is hereby directed to enforce each and all of the provisions of
this Ordinance.
(b) The Tax Administrator shall have power to adopt rules
and regulations not inconsistent with provisions of this Ordinance
for the purpose of carrying out and enforcing the payment, collec-
tion and remittance of taxes herein imposed. A copy of such rules
and regulations shall be on file in the Tax Administrator's office.
(c) The Tax Administrator may make administrative agree-
ments to vary the strict requirements of this Ordinance so that
collection of any tax imposed here may be made in conformance with
the billing procedures of a particular service supplier so long as
said agreements result in collection of the tax in conformance with
the general purpose and scope of this Ordinance. A copy of such
agreement shall be on file in the Tax Administrator's office.
(d) The Tax Administrator shall determine the eligibility
of any person who asserts a right to exemption from the tax imposed
by this Ordinance. The Tax Administrator shall provide the service
supplier with the name of any person who the Tax Administrator
determines is exempt from the tax imposed hereby, together with the!
address and account number to which services is supplied to any such
exempt person. The Tax Administrator shall notify the service
supplier of the termination of any person's right to exemption here-
under, or the change of any address to which service is supplied to
any exempt person.
SECTION 12: ASSESSMENT - ADMINISTRATIVE REMEDY.
(a) The Tax Administrator may make an assessment for taxes
not remitted by a person required to 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 person required to collect the
tax, or that a service user has refused to pay the amount of tax to
such person, or whenever the Tax Administrator deems it in the best
interest of the City, he may relieve such person of the obligation
to collect taxes due under this Ordinance from certain named service
users for specified billing periods.
(c) The service supplier shall provide the City with
amounts refused along with the names and addresses of the service
users refusing or neglecting to pay the tax imposed under provisions
of this Ordinance. Whenever the service user has failed to pay the
amount of tax for a period of two or more billing periods, the
service supplier shall be relieved of the obligation to collect back
taxes due.
(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
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 have changed his address, to his last known
address. If a service user fails to remit the tax to the Tax Ad -
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ministrator 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 twenty-five
(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 herein required to be paid.
SECTION 13: RECORDS. It shall be the duty of every person
required to collect and remit to the City any tax imposed by this
Ordinance 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 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.
SECTION 14: REFUNDS.
(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 Ordinance, 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 collected and remitted the amount overpaid,
paid riore 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 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. A service supplier that
has collected any amount of tax in excess of the amount of tax im-
posed by this Ordinance, 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) No refund shall be paid under the provisions of this
Section unless the claimant establishes his right thereto by written
records showing entitlement thereto.
(d) 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 service,
the taxes paid pursuant to this Ordinance 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 re-
funded taxes against the amount of tax which is due upon the next
monthly returns. In the event this Ordinance is repealed, the
amounts of any refundable taxes will be borne by the City.
(e) If the amount of any tax paid is in excess of the
maximum amount payable as provided in any Section hereof, the Tax
Administrator shall refund the amount overpaid to the service user
within sixty (60) days after the service user has established his
entitlement to such refund, provided that no refunds under this
Subsection need be made more frequently than quarter -annually.
(f) A refund of all taxes due and paid under the provision
of this Ordinance for utility services rendered on and after Febru-
ary 1, 1984 and through June 30, 1984, or for any succeeding twelve
month period, shall be made whenever all of the following occur:
(1) The annual gross income of the household in which
claimant lives is less than $5,500 for the claimant's preceding
federal or state personal income tax reporting period.
(2) An amount greater than the maximum amount speci-
fied in Section 5(d) is paid.
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(3) Claimant makes application and files a
verified claim in writing at the Department of Finance
at City Hall for such refund upon a claim form provided
by the Tax Administrator.
(4) The claim is approved by the Tax Adminis-
trator as being in conformance with this Subsection.
Only one member of each household may
file a claim, and only one claim may be filed for each
individual household.
(g) The claimant shall be the person in whose name the
bills for utility services were rendered. Income of the household
cleans all income of the claimant's household while members of such
household and related to the claimant as a spouse or as defined in
Sections 1.7056 and 17057 of the Revenue and Taxation Code of Cali-
fornia.
(h) "Gross income" shall mean the sum of adjusted gross
income as used for purposes of the California Personal Income Tax
Law, together with the net income from all sources of all kinds,
including but not limited to alimony, support money, cash public
assistance and relief, pensions, annuities, social security,
interest on securities (including tax free interest on governmental
securities), realized capital gains, workers' compensation (not
including medical benefits), unemployment insurance income, insur-
ance benefits of all kinds (other than medical); and gifts, except
that income shall not include Medicare benefits, Medicaid benefits,
gifts of food and gifts between members of the household, the
receipt of surplus food or other relief in kind supplied by a
governmental agency.
(i) The claim for such refund for the preceding twelve
month period ending on June 30, shall be made only during the month
of September or October of each year, and must be accompanied by a
copy of the utility bills, together with proof that the utility
taxes have been paid by the claimant or some member of the house-
hold. No such refund shall be made on any claim filed or postmarked
later than the 31st day of October.
(j) No refund shall be made to any person for taxes levied
on a utility account for which any utility tax is due and outstand-
ing for the period for which refund is claimed or for any prior
period. No refund shall be made of any tax which was paid with
public assistance or relief funds which included an allowance to
pay the tax.
(k) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to require
that any utility company has any obligation to make or furnish, for
the purpose of the refund provisions hereof, proof of utility taxes
due or utility taxes paid.
SECTION 15: CIVIL DEBT. The taxes imposed by this Ordi-
nance shall be civil debts owing to the City from the service user.
A service supplier is not liable to the City until the tax is
collected from a service user. Any person owing money to the City
under the provisions of this Ordinance shall be liable to an action
brought in the name of the City for the recovery of such amount.
SECTION 16: SEVERABILITY. If any Section, Subsection,
Subdivision, Paragraph, Sentence, Clause or Phrase of this Ordinance
or any part thereof is for any reason held to be unconstitutional;
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such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining por-
tions of this Ordinance or any part thereof. The City Council
hereby 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.
SECTION 17: OPERATIVE DATE. This Ordinance is passed,
accepted and enacted, pursuant to Section 36934 of the California
Government Code as an urgency measure pursuant to the police power
of the City of Beaumont. The intent and necessity of this Ordi-
nance is to protect the public health, safety and public welfare
of the citizens.of the City of Beaumont by creating the necessary
funds to preserve the services that are presently provided and need
to be provided.
It shall become effective immediately and shall be of no
further force and effect thirty (30) months from the date of enact-
ment unless it is extended as provided in Section 36934 of the
Government Code.
The tax imposed under this Ordinance shall apply to ser-
vices furnished from the beginning of the first regular billing
period commencing on or after February 1, 1984 or as soon thereafter
as the respective utilities are physically and mechanically able
to get "on line" for the imposition of charges (approximately 60
days).
MOVED, PASSED AND ADOPTED by the City Council of the City
of Beaumont at its regular meeting held on the 27th day of December
1983.
APPROV,D AS TO FORM:
i
CITY ATTORNEY
YOR OF THE CITY OF BEAUMONT
CERTIFICATION
I, Julia White, Deputy City Clerk of the City of Beaumont DO
HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing Ordinance was INTRODUCED AND
PASSED UPON FIRST READING this 27th day of December , 1983,
upon the following roll call vote:
AYES:
Councilmen Lowry; nay, Russo and Mayor Thompson.
Councilman Mitchell.
None.
None.