§ 40-348. Heating companies—Generally.

(a)

Quarterly license fee imposed. Every heating company and every corporation, company, association, joint stock company or association, partnership and person, and their lessees, trustees or receivers appointed by any court whatsoever, owning, operating, managing or controlling any plant or property for manufacturing, distributing and selling, for distribution or distributing hot or cold water, steam or currents of hot or cold air for motive power, heating, cooking or for any public use or service, shall, in addition to all other taxes, payments or requirements now or hereafter required by law or city ordinance, pay to the city a quarter-annual license tax to be due and payable in advance to the city treasurer on or before January 30, April 30, July 30 and October 30, respectively, of each year, based upon the gross receipts of the licensee during the preceding period of three calendar months ending respectively, on December 31, March 31, June 30 and September 30. The amount of such quarterly license tax shall be a sum equal to six percent of the gross receipts derived from the operations of the licensee within the city during the preceding period of three months ending as stated in this subsection. The sale of steam to an owner or lessee of a building, who purchases such steam for resale to the tenants therein, shall, for the purposes of this section, be considered as a sale for consumption and not for resale, but the resale to the tenant shall not be considered as a sale for consumption. The term "gross receipts," as used in this section, shall mean all moneys charged and collected by the licensee from the manufacture, distribution or sale of the products or services of the licensee, or derived from the operations of the business of the licensee, before any deductions are made therefrom by the licensee for any expenses or changes of any kind. The term "gross receipts" shall not include revenues derived from the sale of steam delivered to a customer at the generating facilities of the licensee.

(b)

Reports by licensee. The licensee shall make true and faithful reports under oath to the director of finance and to the commissioner of revenue in such form as may be prescribed by the director of finance, and containing such information as may be necessary to determine the amounts to which the license tax shall apply, on or before January 30, April 30, July 30 and October 30 of each year, for all gross receipts for the three calendar months ending, respectively, on December 31, March 31, June 30 and September 30.

(c)

Payment of license fee. Each tax so paid shall constitute payment for the license to do business for the three months beginning on January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1, respectively, during which months such payment shall be due and payable as prescribed in this section; provided, however, that the acceptance of such fee shall not prejudice the right of the city to collect any additional fee thereafter found to be due.

(d)

Examination of records; audits. The city, the director of finance thereof and his assistants, and any public accountants selected by the city council or by the city manager shall have the right, at all reasonable times during business hours, to make such examinations and inspections of the books of the licensee as may be necessary to determine the correctness of such reports; and the originals of all records, books, documents, accounts, contracts and vouchers, showing accurately the true condition of the gross income and business of the licensee, shall be kept in his office in the city, and the licensee shall not remove such books, records and documents from the city except when necessary for temporary use or when temporarily required to do so by legal process. In any such case of temporary use or process, such books, records and documents shall be promptly returned at the conclusion thereof to the office of the licensee in the city. The city shall have the right, at its own expense, to employ the same accountants who make annual audit of the books, records and accounts of the business of the licensee to audit, at the same time, its accounts and records and certify as to correctness of any payments due and payable by the licensee to the city.

(e)

Effect of annexation on calculation of license fee. In the event of the extension of the corporate limits of the city, the first license tax payment thereafter made by the licensee shall include gross receipts for the previously applicable period derived from the annexed area.

(f)

Penalties for failure to file reports or pay tax when due. The penalties for failure to file on time any report or return required under this section or to pay on time the license fee or tax due under this section are as specified in section 40-12 of this chapter.

(g)

Scope of section. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed as giving to a licensee any exclusive privileges.

(h)

Applicability of license fee to additional charges imposed for nonpayment of gas bill. Where an additional amount is added for failure to make payment of any bill within a prescribed period, the license tax shall be based on the total amount actually paid, as part of the gross receipts of the licensee.

(Code of Gen. Ords. 1967, § 21.443; Ord. No. 35168, 4-19-68; Ord. No. 130044, § 7, 1-31-13)