Article 5. Utility Users’ Tax*
3-3.503 Constitutional, Statutory, and Other Exemptions. (a) Nothing in this Article shall be construed as imposing a tax upon any person or service when the imposition of such tax upon such person or service would be in violation of a federal or State statute, the Constitution of the United States or the Constitution of the State. (b) Any service user that is exempt from the tax imposed by this Article pursuant to subsection (a) of this section shall file an application with the Tax Administrator for an exemption; provided, however, this requirement shall not apply to a service user that is a state or federal agency or subdivision with a commonly recognized name for such service. Said application shall be made upon a form approved by the Tax Administrator and shall state those facts, declared under penalty of perjury, which qualify the applicant for an exemption, and shall include the names of all utility service suppliers serving that service user. If deemed exempt by the Tax Administrator, such service user shall give the Tax Administrator timely written notice of any change in utility service suppliers so that the Tax Administrator can properly notify the new utility service supplier of the service user’s tax-exempt status. A service user that fails to comply with this section shall not be entitled to a refund of utility users’ taxes collected and remitted to the Tax Administrator from such service user as a result of such noncompliance.
The decision of the Tax Administrator may be appealed pursuant to Section 3-3.519 of this Article. Filing an application with the Tax Administrator and appeal to the City Manager pursuant to Section 3-3.519 of this Article is a prerequisite to a suit thereon. (c) Residential Exemption.
(1) Eligibility. Any service user who is personally responsible for the payment of the utility services subject to this tax and who personally pays for those services shall be eligible for an exemption from the taxes imposed by this Article on service supplied to the service user’s residential living quarters if the aggregate gross income of all persons who share the service user’s residential living quarters does not exceed the sum of twelve thousand dollars ($12,000) per year. Only one (1) such residential exemption shall be allowed to any person. The person in whose name the utility services are established with the utility companies will be deemed to be the person responsible for purposes of this section. The provisions of this exemption shall also apply to any individual who meets the criterion of disability, as established by the Social Security Administration’s Supplemental Income Program for the Aged, Blind and Disabled (Title XVI of the Social Security Act as amended). (2) Application. Applications for exemption may be filed with the Tax Administrator at any time on such forms as may be provided. (3) Effective Date. The application shall be approved or denied by the Tax Administrator within seventy-five (75) days of receipt. (4) Contents of the Application. Applications shall be verified by declaration under penalty of perjury and shall contain such information and shall certify the service users as exempt if the eligibility requirements of subsection (a) of this section are met, except that no exemption shall be granted to a service user who is receiving service from a service supplied through a master meter and no exemption shall be granted with respect of any tax imposed by this Article which is or has been paid by a public agency or where the service user receives funds from a public agency specifically for the payment of such tax. (5) Notice to Service Supplier. If a service is certified as exempt, the Tax Administrator shall promptly notify the service user’s service suppliers stating the name of the service user, the address to which such exempt service is being supplied, the account number, if any, and such other information as may be necessary for the service supplier to remove the exempt service user from its tax billing procedure. (6) Discontinuance of Tax. Upon receipt of such notice, the service supplier shall within sixty (60) days discontinue billing the service user for taxes imposed by this Article, except as otherwise provided in subsection (c)(7) of this section. (7) Prior Taxes to Be Collected. Taxes billed by the service supplier to the service user, prior to removing the service user from its tax billing procedure, shall be collected from the service user and the service user shall pay such taxes to the service supplier. Taxes billed to and paid by the service user who is eligible for exemption between the time when an application is submitted and when the service supplier removes the service user from its taxing procedure shall be refunded to the service user. (8) Duration of Exemption. Exemptions certified by the Tax Administrator shall continue so long as the facts supporting qualification for the exemption shall exist. The exemption will automatically terminate with any change in service address or residence of the exempt individual. The individual may apply for a new exemption with each change of address of residence. (9) Duty to Disclose Disqualification. Any service user who has been exempted under this section shall notify the City within ten (10) days of any change in fact or circumstance that might disqualify the individual from receiving such exemption. It shall be a violation of the Emeryville Municipal Code, subject to administrative citation under Chapter 7 of Title 1 of this Code misdemeanor for any person to knowingly receive the benefit of the exemption provided by this section when the basis for such exemptions does not exist or ceases to exist. Any service supplier who determines by any means that a new or nonexempt service user is receiving service through a meter or connection exempt by virtue of an exemption issued to a previous user or exempt user of the same meter or connection shall immediately notify the Tax Administrator of such fact and the Tax Administrator shall conduct an investigation to ascertain whether or not the provisions of this section have been complied with, and, when appropriate, order the service supplier to commence collecting the tax from the nonexempt service user. (10) Audit by the Tax Administrator. The Tax Administrator shall have the power and right to demand evidence of continued eligibility of a service user for exemption under the provisions of this section. Such evidence may include, but need not be limited to, copies of business records, letter or statements from the Social Security Administration and State, County, City and private pension administrators or unemployment or welfare agencies, and such other evidence concerning the service user or other member of his or her household as may tend to prove or disprove such eligibility. Failure to provide such evidence as is within the control of a service user to provide, either directly or by consent of a member of the household, when such evidence is requested may be the basis for immediate discontinuance of the service user’s eligibility for exemption under the provisions of this section. Evidence provided to the Tax Administrator at the Tax Administrator’s request or voluntarily provided by the service user without the Tax Administrator’s request may not be used against such service user as evidence in violation of the provisions of this section. Such evidence may only be used as grounds for termination of the exemption herein provided. (Sec. 1 (part), Ord. 07-014, eff. Nov. 6, 2007)