§ 40-367. Water businesses.

(a)

Quarterly license fee imposed. Every water 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, leasing or controlling a water system for the distribution, sale or furnishing of water 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 fee to be due and payable to the city treasurer on or before January 30, April 30, July 30 and October 30, respectively, of each year, based upon the business done 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 fee shall be a sum equal to six percent of the gross receipts derived from the sale of all water sold and delivered, during the preceding period of three months ending as stated in this subsection, to consumers within the city for all purposes whatsoever. Where an additional amount is added for failure to make pay- ment of any water bill within a prescribed period, the license fee shall be based on the total amount actually paid as part of the gross receipts of the licensee.

(b)

Reports by licensee. The licensee shall and is hereby required to 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 fee so paid shall constitute payment for the three months beginning on January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1, respectively, during which months such payments shall be due and payable as prescribed in this section; provided, however, that the acceptance of such fees shall not prejudice the right of the city to collect any additional fee thereafter found to be due; and provided further that, if the licensee shall pay a sum greater than is due upon its gross receipts for any period, by reason of it being impossible to determine at the time the fees for such period are due the amount of gross receipts to which the license tax for such period legally applies, such licensee may deduct such overpayment from and be given credit for it against the amount of license tax required to be paid by it for the period during which it first becomes possible to determine the amount of gross receipts to which the license tax legally applies for the period as to which such overpayment was made, and, if such overpayment exceeds the amount due from the licensee for the period during which it becomes possible to compute it, then such licensee may take credit against payments due from it for periods immediately following until it has received credit for the total amount of such overpayment.

(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 examination and inspection of the books of such licensee as may be necessary to determine the correctness of such reports. 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 the office, and the licensee shall not remove such books, records and documents from his office except when necessary for temporary use, or when temporarily required to do so by legal process, and 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. The city shall have the right, at its own expense, to employ the same accountants who make the annual audit of the books, records and accounts of the business of the licensee, to audit, at the same time, his accounts and records and certify as to the correctness of any payments due and payable by the licensee to the city.

(e)

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.

(Code of Gen. Ords. 1967, § 21.466; Ord. No. 130044, § 9, 1-31-13)

Cross reference

Water, ch. 78.