O1684
CA:JLD:usertax.ord\wp51\pc\df
city Council Meeting 6-1-93
Santa Monica, California
ORDINANCE NUMBER l684(CCS)
(City council Series)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF SANTA MONICA AMENDING SANTA MONICA MUNICIPAL
CODE SECTIONS 6.72.020, 6.72.030, 6.72.040, 6.72.050 AND
ADDING SECTION 6.72.055 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 6.72.020
is amended to read as follows:
SECTION 6.72.020. Telephone Tax.
(a) There is hereby imposed a tax upon
every person in the City, other than a
telephone
corporation,
using
intrastate,
interstate,
and
international
telephone
communication services in the city. The tax
imposed by this Section shall be at the
following rate:
(I) Prior to July 1, 1993, 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,
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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 July 1, 1993, ten
percent (10%) 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:
(I) "Interstate and international
telephone communication services" are those
charges which originate or terminate wi thin
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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, fiber
optics, 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
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included in the base for computing the amount
of tax due; nor except for cellular
telecommunications, 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
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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 subj ect 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) day following the date on
which the Director's decision is made final.
SECTION 2. Santa Monica Municipal Code section
6.72.030 is amended to read as follows:
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SECTION 6.72.030. 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:
(I) Prior to July 1, 1993, 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.
(2) On and after July 1, 1993, ten
percent (10%) of all charges made for such
services, which tax shall be paid by the
person paying for such services.
(b) As used in this section, the term
"charges" shall include charges made for: (I)
metered energy; and (2) minimum charges for
service, including customer charges, service
charges, deman4 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
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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
6.72.040 is amended to read as follows:
SECTION 6.72.040. 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 July 1, 1993, 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.
(2) On and after July 1, 1993, ten
percent (10%) of all charges made for such
7
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 6.72.050
is amended to read as follows:
SECTION 6.72.050. Cable Television.
(a) 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 July 1, 1993, nine and
one-half percent (9.5%) of all charges made
for such cable television service, which tax
8
shall be paid by the person paying for such
cable television service.
(2) On and after July 1, 1993, ten
percent (10%) 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 seryice shall mean a television
signal delivered by cable for a fee or charge.
SECTION 5. section 6.72.055 of the Santa Monica
Municipal Code is hereby added to read as follows:
SECTION 6.72.03,0. Water Usage Tax.
(a) Commencing on July 1, 1993 there is
hereby imposed a tax upon every person in the
City of Santa Monica using the City's water
service. The tax imposed by this Section
shall be at the following rate:
(I) On and after July 1, 1993, ten
percent (10%) of all charges made for such
water services, which tax shall be paid by the
person paying for such water services.
(b) As used in this Section, the term
"charges" shall include charges made for: (1)
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metered and unmetered water usage; (2) waste
water discharge
including sewer
service
...
.
charges; and~(3) minimum, fixed and variable
charges for ls~rvice, including all customer
charges, service charges, demand charges,
standby charges, and annual, monthly and bi-
monthly charges.
SECTION 6.
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 7. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause,
or phrase of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or
unconsti tutional 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.
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SECTION 8. 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 upon
its adoption pursuant to Santa Monica Municipal Charter section
619.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
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\: '~~
JOSEPH LA ENCE
~ing city Attorney
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Adopted and approved this 1st day of June, 1993.
9 IJ>;
Mayor
I hereby certify that the foregoing Ordinance No. 1684(CCS)
was duly and regularly introduced at a me,eting of the City
Council on the 25th day of May 1993j that the said Ordinance was
thereafter duly adopted at a meeting of the City Council on the
1st day of June 1993 by the following Council vote:
Ayes:
Councilmembers:
Abdo, Genser, Olsen, Rosenstein,
Vazquez
Noes: Councilmembers:
Greenberg, Holbrook
Abstain: Councilmembers:
None
Absent: Councilmembers:
None
ATTEST:
)",..' City Clerk