HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrd1949-190
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CITY 0]' SEW/.ED
Seward, Alaska
Tax Ordinance No. 1~~2% Sales Tax
AIr ORDINJ~CE LEVYING A CONSUMERS OR RETAIL SALE TAX IN
THE CITY OF SEWARD, ALASU, J~ND PROVIDING FOR ADMINISTRATION,
METHODS OF COLLECTION AND ~ENALTIES.
WHEhEJ.S, an unprecedented increase in enrollment in the
city school is being experienced without a corresponding in-
crease in General Revenue funds, and,
WHEilEAS, 'the City of Seward does not have sufficient funds
to operate its school system thru the current year, end,
iiHEhEA.S, Subsection 17 of Section 2383, Compiled Laws of
Alaska 1933, and Subsection Nine of Section 16-1-35 ACLA 1949,
authorizes the City Council "To take such other action by
ordinance, resolui.ion or otherwise as may be necessary to pro-
tect and preserve the lives, the health, the safety and the
well-being of the people of the City," and,
WHEREAS, the Council of the City of Seward hereby declares
that an emergency exists and that action is neoessary by the
Ordinance to protect the health and well-being of the people of
Seward by providing additional funds for the operation of
present facilities and for the construction and operation of
more adequate educational and public health facilities, and to
provide for betterment of the schools and to pay for such school
operations, publiC health and sanitation.
NOW T:HEliEF'OnE BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COMMON COUNCIL Oli THE
CITY OF SEdARD, AUSA.A:
SECTION l--Tax rate--Sales subject to tax--~ertain sales
deolared sales to consumers or users--Deolaring a two per cent
(2%) tax upon alcoholio beverages and a two per cent (2~) tax
upon all other sales as herein designated, for said school pur-
poses and for retiring school indebtedness, public health. the City
sanitation, and public welfare.
Tax Ordinance No. 190--2~ Sales Tax 2
(A) Two per cent (2%) of the gross revenue derived
from retail sales of all alcoholic beverages sold or dispensed
for consumption on or off the premises.
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(!) Two per cent (2%) of the gross revenue derived
from all other retail sales made in the City, said revenue being
computed in dolars and the tax payable by the retailer, and/or
two per cent (27bl of the gross revenue computed in dOllars,
derived from services performed, payable by the person receiving
such remuneration; providing said sales and/or revenue for ser-
vices exceeds one hundred dollars ($100.00) in any calendar year;
save and excepting Ifremuneration for services" shall not be con-
strued to include salaries and wages received by an employee from
an employer but shall include the gross remuneration received for
furnishing labor and materials for accomplisbing a speCified result.
(C) Lll tangible personal property.
(D) Natural or artificial gas, electricity, ice, steam
or any public service or public utility including water.
(EI Transportation for hire of persons by common
carriers, including motor transportation, taxicab companies and all
other means of transportation for hire.
(F) Services by telephone companies to subscribers or
users, including transmission of messages, whether local or long
distance. This shall include all services and rental charges hav-
ing any connection witb transmission of messages.
(G) Printed matter or printing of all types, kinds,
and characters and the service of printing or over printing.
(H) The service of renting rooms or living quarters
by hotels,a".:rL__Le, rooming houses, public lodging bouses or
by firms or individuals renting multiple units of more than three
rooms. .~ me~&-4h~rrl~8-~;arn~~nt~
(I) Foods, confections and all drinks sold and dispensed
by hotels, restaurants, or other dispensers, and sold for immediate
consumption upon the premises or delivered or carried away from the
premises for consumption elsewhere.
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~ax Ordinanoe No. 190--2~ Sales Tax 3
(J) Advertising of all kinds, types and characters
origina ting in Seward or ad jacent areas, includ ing any and all
devioes used for advertising purposes and the servicing of ad-
vertising devices.
(K) Gross proceeds derived from the operation of slot
maohines, marble machines, juke boxes, merchandise vending machines
or amusement devices of any kind.
(L) ~he sale of tickets or admissions to plaoes of
amusement, to athletic entertainment, recreational events, or dues
or fees for the privilege of having acoeS8 to or the use of amuse-
ment, entertainment, athletic or recreational facilities, including
free or complimentary passes and tickets, admissions, dues, or fees.
Such free or complimentary passes and tickets, dues or fees are
hereby declared to have a value equivalent to the sale price or
value of said tickets, passes, admissions, fees, or dues.
(M) ]'or the purposes of this Ordinance, sales and
services of tangible personal property made for the purpose of
developing and improving real estate even though such real estate
is intended for resale as real property, are hereby declared to
be sales to sonsumers or users. Sales and/or services of tangible
personal property, including meterials, supplies and equipment,
made to contractors who use same in the performance of any con-
tract, are hereby declared to be sales to consumers or users and
not sales for resale. Sales of tangible personal property to
persons who are primarily engaged in selling their services shall
be deemed sales to oonsumers or users and therefore taxable.
~ECTION 2--Exceptions and exemptions.
(A) The gross receipts or gross prooeeds derived from
the sale of tangible personal propert:,;' or services by churches,
except where such organizations may be engaged in business for
profit or savings, competing with other persons engaged in the
same or similar business.
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Tax Ordinance No. 190--2% Sales ~ax 4
(B) Gross receipts or proceeds derived from the
transportation to and from grade or high schools in motor or other
vehicles.
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(c) Gross receipts or proceeds derived from the sale
of food on public common, high sohoo1 cafeterias or lunch rooms
operated primarily for teaohers and pupils, and not operated pri-
marily for the public and not operated for profit.
(D) Gross receipts or proceeds derived from carrier
sales made directly to consumers or users of newspapers or any other
periodicals.
(E) Gross receipts or proceeds from servicing, freezing,
storing, handling or wharfing of fish or any other commodities
awaiting shipment or in the process of being shipped.
(F) Gross receipts or prooeeds derived from sales to
the United ~tates Government, ~erritory of Alaska, City of ~eward,.
or any of its political subdivisions.
SECTION 3--Tax due when--Filing of returns, records.
(A) The tax levied hereunder shall be due and payable at
the expiration of each month's business by any person or corporation
liable for the payment of any tax due under this Ordinanoe and for
the purpose of ascertaining the amount of the tax payable under this
Ordinance, it shall be the duty of all taxpayers on or before the
lOth day of the month immediately following the close of each month
to deliver to the City Clerk upon forms prescribed and furnished by
him, returns under Oath, showing the gross receipts or gross pro-
ceeds arising from all sales taxable or non-taxable under this
Ordinance, during the proceeding month~ and thereafter like returns
shall be prepared and delivered to the said City Clerk by all such
taxpayers on or before the 10th day of each succeeding month.
Suoh returns shall show such further information as
as the City Clerk may require to enable him to compute correctly
and collect the tax helein levied. In addition to the information
required 011 returns, the ~ity Clerk may request and the taxpayer
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Tax Ordinanoe No. 190--2~ Sales Tax 5
must furnish any information deemed neoessary for a oorreot oom-
putation of the tax. Suoh taxpayer shall compute and remit to
the City Glerk the required tax due for the preoeeding month, and
the remittanoe or remittances of the tax must acoompany the returns
herein required.
If not paid on or before the 10th day of eaoh month
immediately following the close of each month, the tax shall be
delinquent from such date, and oollection will be enforoed under
the terms of the Ordinance as set forth in paragraph four of
Se otion .b'our.
(B) It shall be the duty of every taxpayer required
to make a return and pay any tax under this Ordinanoe, to keep
and preserve suitable reoords of the gross daily sales together
with invoioes of purchases and sales, bills of lading, bills of
sale and other pertinent records and doouments which may be neces-
sery to determine the amount of tax due hereunder and suoh other
reoords of goods, wares, merohandise aud other subjeots of taxa-
tion under this Ordinance as will substantiate aud prove the ao-
curaoy of such returus. It shall also be the duty of every person
who makes sales for resale to keep reoords of such sales whioh
shall be Bubjeot to examination by the City Clerk or any authorized
employee thereof while engaged in oheoking or auditing the reoords
of any taxpayer required to make a report under the terms of this
Ordinance, and cause the books to be audited and examined.
All such records shall remain in the ~ity of Seward and
be preserved for a period of three (3) years, unless the City Clerk
in writ~ng, has authorized their destruction or disposal at an
earlier date, and shall be open to examination at any time by the
Oi ty Clerk or any authorized employee thereof while engaging in
checking such records. The burden of proving that a sale was not
a taxable sale shall be upon the person or persons making the sale.
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Tax Ordinance No. 190--2% Sales Tax 6
Seotion 4--Vendor's duty to oollect tax--Failure to
comply--hebate to consumer prohibited--Penalty.
(A) The tax levied hereunder shall be paid by the con-
sumer or user to the vendor, and it shall be the duty of each and
every vendor of the City to oolleot from the consumer or user,
the full amount of the tax imposed by this Ordinance, exoept that
the tax on receipts of proceeds from various mechanical devioes
as stipulated in paragraph (K), Section 1, shall be paid by the
owner and/or operator thereof.
(B) Vendors shall add the tax imposed under this
ordinance or the average equivalent thereof, to the sales price
or charge, and when so added suoh tax shall constitute a part of
such price or charge and shall be reooverable at law in the same
manner as other debts. Performers and/or sellers of services
shall be considered vendors for the purpose of this Section.
(e) Vendors shall add this tax to the sale prioe or
service charge in strict accordance with the following scale:
(See inside back cover).
CD) A vendor whO willfully or intentionally fails,
neglects or refuses to collect the full amount of the tax im-
posed by this Ordinance or Willfully or intentionally fails,
neglects or refuses to oomply with the provisions of this
Ordinanoe, or remits or rebates to a consumer or user, either
direotly and by whatsoever means, all or any part of the tax
levied by this Ordinance, shall be deemed guilty of a mis-
demeanor, and upon oonviction thereof shall be fined not more
than one hundred dollars ($100.00), and upon oonviction for a
seoond or other subsequent offenses, shall be fined not more
than five hundred dollars ($500.00), or imprisonment in the City
Jail for not more than thirty (30) days, or both.
(E) Provided: It 1s provided, however, that in oases
where the Vendor or Serviaor finds it necessary to absorb the
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Tax Ordinance No. lSO--2~ Sales Tax 7
tax herein levied because of the expense or difficulty of sys-
temizing an adequate method of collecting this tax, may have an
opportunity to elect on January 1 of each year whether he desires
to assume and pay the tax himself by applying to the City Clerk
for authority to assume the tax.
Anyone who so elects to assume or to pay the tax in lieu
of making the collection will be required to pay 2~ on the en-
tire gross book sales of his establishment and must furnish and
post up in their establishment s placard stating permission has
been granted for him to assume the Sales snd ~ervice Tax, in
this Act required to be assessed.
Section 5--Discount.
At the time of transmitting the returns required under
this Ordinance to the City Clerk, the person or persons filing
such returns shall remit therewith to the City Clerk, except as
hereinafter provided, ninety-seven per cent (97~) of the tax
due under this Ordinance, snd the failure to remit such tax at
the time of filing the returns shall cause said tax to become
delinquent; provided however, in the event the payment of any
tax due under the applicable provisions of this Ordinance be-
comes and remains delinquent for a period of five days (5), the
taxpayer forfe its his cla L to the three per cent (3ro) discount
and must remit to the ~ity Clerk one hundred per cent (lOO~) of
the tax due. This discount is allowed the seller or vendor to
compensate for his keeping sales tax records, filing returns and
remitting t~e tax when due as ~equired by this.
Section 6--~esignating a depository snd providing for
administration.
(A) All monies accumulated under the terms of this
Ordinance shall be deposited by the ~ity ~lerk with the ~ank of
Seward in an aooount to be ti Ued "Eduoation and Publio Health
and Sanitation", and no part of these funds may be diverted to
any other than herein stipulated except that the ~ity Council
1:ax Ordinance Ho. 190--2,0 Sales '..ax
8
may direct the City Clerk to invest any portion thereof in
United states Goverument Bonds, pending its immediate need for
those stipulated purposes.
(B) ~xpenditures from this fund may be made at the
discretion of the City Council, by nesolution or Ordinance,
but only for the purpose of operating, maintaining, improving
or increasing public educational facilities, public health,
end sanitation.
Section 7--
(L) By carriers, truckmen, busses, cabs, etc., handling
transportation of passengers or freight originating or terminating
within the City of Seward, Shall pay a service tax charge of
two per cent (2~) of one dollar ($1.00) only per passenger end
two per cent (2%) for two dollar. ($2.00) only per trip for
transportation of freight.
(B) !rhere shall be no sales tax levied upon wholesale
business or wholesale sales or upon passing commerce in bulk.
(C) All taxpayers shall make their reports and remit
their tax monthly, the report and the tax to arrive in the
City Hall not later than ten (10) days efter the close of the
previous month's business.
CD) That all retail sales and services, etc., are to
produce two per cent (2%) tax upon all business transacted within
the City of Seward regardless of the residence of the p~rchaser
or one receiving the services.
EIU'ORC~;:ENT OJ!' T HE ACT:
Whenever the City Council, by a resolution or ordinance,
authorizes and requires the inspection of the books and records--
sales books or otherwise--of any person or corporation coming
come
under the jurisdiction of the Ordinance, it shall be-fthe duty of
such person or corporation to forthwith faithfully and openly
allow said inspection to be made by the authorized person designated
by the City Council to make such inspection. The inspection
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Tax Ordinance No. 1~0--2% Sales Tax 9
aforesaid shall be limited in its examination of the purchase
books to show the gross amount of purchases end the sales books
to show the gross amount of sales and other records necessary to
enable the authorized person to check, determine and levy the
two per cent (2%> sales tax in cases where it is doubtful that
the full amount of tax has been previously accounted for and
paid and that this inspection shall be used for the purpose of
finding the amount of exact tax due to the oity only.
The refusal to permit full inspection of the books of a
taxpayer of person or corporation coming within the purview of
this act or to refuse to report upon the monthly accounts, or to
remit the tax due under this Ordinance will be a violation of
this Ordinance and is herebl declared to be a misdemeanor snd
upon conviction shall be subject to one or the other set of
punishments prescribed in this Ordinance.
PENALTY:
Every act prohibited by this Code is hereby declared un-
lawful; unless another penalty i8 expressly provided by this
Ordinance for any particular provision or section, every person
oonvioted of a violation of any provision of this Ordinance, or
any rule or regulation adopted or issued in pursuance thereof,
shall be punished by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars
($100.00) or by imprisonment for not more than thirty (30) days,
or by both such fine and imprisonment. Each act of violation and
every day upon which any such violation shall occur shall constitute
a separate offense.
The penalty provided by this section shall, unless an-
other penalty is expressly provided, apply to the amendment of
any section of this Ordinance whether or not such penalty is re-
enaoted in the amendatory ordinance.
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Tax Ordinance No. 190--2je Sales Tax
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Section 8--Partial Invalidity.
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase
of this Ordinance is held to be invalid, the decision shall not
affect the validity or the meaning of the remaining portions of
this Ordinance. The City Council declares that it would have
passed this Ordinance, and each section, subsection, sentence,
clause, phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that anyone or
more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, or phrases be
declared invalid.
All ordinances or parts of Ordinances in conflict with
this Ordinance are hereby repealed.
This Ordinance shall take effect and be in full force
from and after the date of its passage and approval, provided
this Ordinance receives the consent of fifty-five per cent
(55%) or more of the qualified voters of the municipality first
obtained by a ....eferendum Vote at t~he special election held for
this purpose on ~eptember ~, l~49.
This Ordinance passed and approved this ~ day of
September 194~ under suspension of the rules.
. :J"-+ '.
..~ ~t~
. L1J:HER, Mayor
Sews.rd, Alaska
ATTEST:
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C y" erk {/
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Tax Ordinanoe No. 190--2'7;; Sales 'J.ax 11
( For Bao.: Cover)
COLLECTION SCALE
Sales Tax
-
.24 & under . . . . . . . . None
.25 to .50 . . . . . . . . .01
.51 to 1.24 . . . . . . . . .02
1.25 to 1.50 . . . . . . . . .03
1.51 to 2.24 . . . . . . . . .04
2.25 to 2.50 . . . . . . . . .05
2.51 to 3.24 . . . . . . . . .06
3.25 to 3.50 . . . . . . . . .07
3.51 to 4.24. . . . . . . . .08
4.25 to 4.50 . . . . . . . . .09
4.51 to 5.00 . . . . . . . . .10
Over $5.00--straight 2%