ITEM 8-B
City Council Meeting 7-10-90 Santa Monica, California
STAFF REPORT
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: City Attorney
SUBJECT: Ordinance Amending Santa Monica Municipal Code
Sections 6621, 6622, 6623, and 6623A to Increase
the Utility User Tax
At its meeting on June 26, 1990, the City Council directed
the City Attorney to prepare an ordinance increasing the City's
Utility User Tax. In response to this direction, the
accompanying ordinance has been prepared and is presented to the
City Council for its consideration.
The accompanying ordinance amends Municipal Code Sections
6621, 6622, 6623, and 6623A to increase the telephone,
electricity, gas, and cable television taxes. The taxes are
currently set at eight percent (8%) of all charges made for each
service. This ordinance increases the tax rate for each utility,
to be effective November 1, 1990, to nine and one-half percent
(9.5%) of all charges made for each service.
RECOMMENDATION
It is respectfully recommended that the accompanying
ordinance be adopted.
PREPARED BY: Robert M. Myers, City Attorney
ORDINANCE NUMBER ____
(City Council Series)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF SANTA MONICA AMENDING SANTA MONICA MUNICIPAL
CODE SECTIONS 6621, 6622, 6623, AND 6623A TO
INCREASE THE UTILITY USER TAX
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES ORDAIN AS
FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 6621 is
amended to read as follows:
SECTION 6621. Telephone Tax.
(a) There is hereby imposed a tax
upon every person in the City, other than
a telephone corporation, using
instrastate, interstate, and international
telephone communication services in the
city. The tax imposed by this Section
shall be at the following rate:
(1) Prior to November 1,
1990, eight percent (8%) of all charges
made for such services, which tax shall be
paid by the person paying for such
services, except that any taxpayer who
provides proof that the taxpayer has
properly paid a telephone communication
services tax to a jurisdiction other than
the City of Santa Monica based on the same
transmission as is taxed by the City shall
be entitled to a refund or credit for any
duplicative tax that the taxpayer has paid
to the City.
(2) On and after November 1,
1990, nine and one-half percent (9.5%) of
all charges made for such services, which
tax shall be paid by the person paying for
such services, except that any taxpayer
who provides proof that the taxpayer has
properly paid a telephone communication
services tax to a jurisdiction other than
the City of Santa Monica based on the same
transmission as is taxed by the City shall
be entitled to a refund or credit for any
duplicative tax that the taxpayer has paid
to the City.
(b) As used in this Section, the
following terms are defined as follows:
(1) "Interstate and
international telephone communication
services" are those charges which
originate or terminate within the City of
Santa Monica and are charged to a Santa
Monica service address.
(2) "Telephone communication
services" mean the transmission of any
communications, messages, or information,
whether by fixed, mobile, portable, or any
other form through electronic or other
means, between or among points by wire,
cable, fiberoptics, laser, microwave,
radio, satellite or other methods.
(3) "Service address" is the
address where the telephone equipment is
located and to which the telephone number
is assigned.
(c) The duty to collect the tax on
interstate and international telephone
communication services shall commence with
the first regular billing period of each
service user beginning on or after
September 1, 1989.
(d) 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 "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, 1989.
(e) Notwithstanding the provisions
of subsection (a), the tax imposed under
this Section shall not be imposed upon any
person for using intrastate, interstate,
and international telephone communication
services to the extent that the amounts
paid for such services are exempt from or
not subject to the tax imposed by Section
4251 of Title 26 of the United States
Code, as such section existed on January
1, 1989, without regard to subsection (b)
thereof.
(f) Any taxpayer who claims to be
entitled to a refund for any tax paid
pursuant to this Section shall file an
application for a tax refund with the
Director of Finance. The application
shall be made on a form provided by the
Director and the taxpayer shall provide
under penalty of perjury all facts,
including all documentary evidence, which
supports the claim for a refund. The
Director shall review all refund
applications and shall determine the
amount, if any, of any refund due. The
Director shall notify the taxpayer of his
or her decision in writing by mailing a
copy of the decision to the taxpayer at
the taxpayer's last known address.
All taxpayers claiming a refund
must file their refund applications no
later than one hundred eighty (180) days
following payment of the tax which is the
subject of the application.
The Director's decision shall be
final on the day it is mailed to the
taxpayer and shall not be subject to
further appeal, except that judicial
review of the decision may be sought
pursuant to Sections 1094.5 and 1094.6 of
the California Code of Civil Procedure
only if judicial review is commenced no
later than the ninetieth (90th) days
following the date on which the Director's
decision is made final.
SECTION 2. Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 6622 is
amended to read as follows:
SECTION 6622. Electricity Tax.
(a) There is hereby imposed a tax
upon every person in the City of Santa
Monica using electrical energy in the City
of Santa Monica. The tax imposed by this
Section shall be at the following rate:
(1) Prior to November 1,
1990, eight percent (8%) of all charges
made for such services changed to energy,
which tax shall be paid by the person
paying for such services changed to
energy.
(2) On and after November 1,
1990, nine and one-half percent (9.5%) of
all charges made for such services changed
to energy, which tax shall be paid by the
person paying for such services changed to
energy.
(b) As used in this Section, the
term "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 annual and monthly
charges.
(c) 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. The term shall not
include electricity used in water pumping
by water corporations, nor shall the term
include the mere receiving of such energy
by an electrical corporation at a point
within the City of Santa Monica for
resale.
SECTION 3. Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 6623 is
amended to read as follows:
SECTION 6623. Gas Tax.
(a) There is hereby imposed a tax
upon every person in the City of Santa
Monica using in the City gas which is
delivered through mains or pipes. The tax
imposed by this Section shall be at the
following rate:
(1) Prior to November 1,
1990, eight percent (8%) of all charges
made for such gas, which tax shall be paid
by the person paying for such gas.
(2) On and after November 1,
1990, nine and one-half percent (9.5%) of
all charges made for such gas, which tax
shall be paid by the person paying for
such gas.
(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 to be used in the generation of
electrical energy by an electrical
corporation; and (3) charges made by a gas
public utility for gas used and consumed
in the conduct of the business of gas
public utilities.
SECTION 4. Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 6623A is
amended to read as follows:
SECTION 6623A. Cable Television.
(a) Commencing on January 1, 1984,
there is hereby imposed a tax upon every
person in the City of Santa Monica using
in the City a cable television service.
The tax imposed by this Section shall be
at the following rate:
(1) Prior to November 1,
1990, eight percent (8%) of all charges
made for such cable television service,
which tax shall be paid by the person
paying for such cable television service.
(2) On and after November 1,
1990, nine and one-half percent (9.5%) of
all charges made for such cable television
service, which tax shall be paid by the
person paying for such cable television
service.
(b) For purposes of this Section,
cable television service shall mean a
television signal delivered by cable for a
fee or charge.
SECTION 5. Any provision of the Santa Monica Municipal
Code or appendices thereto inconsistent with the provisions of
this Ordinance, to the extent of such inconsistencies and no
further, are hereby repealed or modified to that extent necessary
to affect the provisions of this Ordinance.
SECTION 6. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause,
or phrase of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid
or unconstitutional by a decision of any court of any competent
jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the
remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby
declares that it would have passed this Ordinance, and each and
every section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase not
declared invalid or unconstitutional without regard to whether
any portion of the Ordinance would be subsequently declared
invalid or unconstitutional.
SECTION 7. The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall
attest to the passage of this Ordinance. The City Clerk shall
cause the same to be published once in the official newspaper
within 15 days after its adoption. This Ordinance shall become
effective after 30 days from its adoption.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
____________________
ROBERT M. MYERS
City Attorney