Chapter 5.20
NATURAL GAS BUSINESSES
Sections:
5.20.060 Late payment penalty.
5.20.070 Refund of overpayment.
5.20.080 Unpaid fees and tax a debt.
5.20.100 Administration and interpretation.
5.20.010 Purpose.
This chapter shall be deemed an exercise of the police power of the city to license for revenue and to impose an excise tax on certain acts and privileges in the city. [Ord. 2019-01 § 2 (Exh. A), 2019].
5.20.020 Definitions.
The following definition shall be used to construe the provisions of this chapter except as otherwise declared or apparent from the context:
“Natural gas business” means the distribution and sale of natural gas and the operation, maintenance and replacement of a system for the distribution of the same for profit within the city. [Ord. 2019-01 § 2 (Exh. A), 2019].
5.20.030 License fee.
Every person, firm or corporation subject to the provisions of this chapter shall, before engaging in any business or performing any act subject to the imposition of a tax under this chapter, obtain a business license as provided for under Chapter 5.01 CRMC. [Ord. 2019-01 § 2 (Exh. A), 2019].
5.20.040 Tax levied – Rate.
From and after the first day of February 2010, there is levied and imposed and there shall be collected from every person, firm, or corporation a tax for the act or privilege of conducting or engaging within the city in the natural gas business. Such tax shall be equal to six percent of the gross operating revenues of the natural gas business, for each calendar year in which any such business shall be conducted within the city after the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter, which tax shall be payable to the clerk-treasurer of the city for which said tax is imposed. [Ord. 2019-01 § 2 (Exh. A), 2019].
5.20.050 Tax deductions.
In computing the tax imposed by this chapter there may be deducted from the gross operating revenue the following items:
A. Amounts derived from the sale or distribution of natural gas to persons in the same public service business as the taxpayer for resale as such within the city;
B. The amount of cash discount actually taken by purchasers or customers;
C. The amount of credit losses actually sustained by taxpayers whose regular books of account are kept upon an accrual basis;
D. Amounts derived from a business which the city is prohibited from taxing under the constitution or laws of the state or under the Constitution or laws of the United States, or any amount paid by the taxpayer to the United States or the state as excise tax on business conducted within the city. [Ord. 2019-01 § 2 (Exh. A), 2019].
5.20.060 Late payment penalty.
If any taxpayer fails to pay tax required by this chapter within 10 days of the date the same herein becomes due, there shall be added to such tax a penalty of 10 percent of such amount then due, but in no case shall the penalty be less than $1.00, together with interest at the rate of eight percent per year on the total tax due, said interest to be computed from the date said tax became due until the same is paid. [Ord. 2019-01 § 2 (Exh. A), 2019].
5.20.070 Refund of overpayment.
Any money paid to the city through error and not in payment of any license fee or tax due under this chapter, upon request of the taxpayer by whom such payment was made, shall be credited or refunded to said taxpayer as provided in this section. The amount of any such excess shall be credited against any license fee or tax then due or to become due from such taxpayer; or, upon ceasing business and presenting to the city clerk-treasurer a valid written claim therefor, an appropriate refund shall be ordered paid by the city council from the general fund of the city at the next regular meeting of the council. [Ord. 2019-01 § 2 (Exh. A), 2019].
5.20.080 Unpaid fees and tax a debt.
Any license fee or tax due and unpaid to the city under this chapter and all interest and penalties thereon shall constitute a debt to the city and may be collected by court proceedings in the same manner as any other debt of like amount, which remedy shall be in addition to all other existing remedies. [Ord. 2019-01 § 2 (Exh. A), 2019].
5.20.090 Violation – Penalty.
A. Any person, firm or corporation violating or failing to comply with the provisions of this chapter, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine in any sum not to exceed $300.00 or by imprisonment in the city jail for a term not to exceed 90 days, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
B. Any taxpayer who engages in or carries on any business subject to a tax under this chapter without having first paid his license fee as provided in this chapter shall be guilty of a violation of this chapter for each day in which the business is engaged in or carried on. Any taxpayer who fails or refuses to pay the tax provided in this chapter, or any part thereof, on or before the date due, shall be deemed to be operating without having such license to do so. [Ord. 2019-01 § 2 (Exh. A), 2019].
5.20.100 Administration and interpretation.
In the administration of this chapter and the interpretation of the provisions thereof, the city clerk-treasurer shall be guided by the rules and regulations as published and interpreted by the Excise Tax Division of the Tax Commission of the state of Washington, insofar as the same pertain to and are not inconsistent with the provisions and requirements of this chapter. [Ord. 2019-01 § 2 (Exh. A), 2019].