Fairfax County tax ordinance •
ADOPTION OF AN ORDINANCE IMPOSING A TAX
r =te ON PERSONS PURCHASING UTILITY SERVICES,
FIXING THE AMOUNT OF TAX, PROVIDING FOR
ITS COLLECTION AND PRESCRIBING PENALTIES
FOR THE VIOLATION OF THIS ORDINANCE
At an adjourned meeting of the Board of County Supervisors
of Fairfax County, Virginia, held in the Board Room in the
County Office Building at Fairfax, Virginia, on Wednesday,
June 29, 1966, the Board, after having first given notice
of its intention so to do, in the manner prescribed by law,
adopted an ordinance to be Imown as an Ordinance Imposing a
Tax on Persons Purchasing Utility Services, Fixing the Amount
of Tax, Providing for Its Collection and Prescribing Penalties
for the Violation of this Ordinance, said ordinance so adopted
being in the words and figures following, to-wit:
BE IT ORDAINED by the Board of County Supervisor of Fairfax
County, Virginia, as follows :
Section 1. Definitions . The following words and phrases
when used in this ordinance shall for the purposes of this
ordinance have the following respective meanings, except where
the context clearly indicates a different meaning.
a. ) Person. The word "person" shall include individuals,
firms, partnerships, associations, corporations , and combinations
of individuals of whatever form and character.
b. ) Utility Service. The phrase "utility service" shall
include local exchange telephone service, electric service
and gas, excluding bottled gas, service furnished within the
County of Fairfax.
c . ) Purchaser. The word "purchaser" shall include
every person who purchases a utility service.
d. ) The word "seller" shall include every person who
sells or furnishes a utility service, and who comes within
the provisions of Title 58, Chapter 12, Articles 8 and 10
of the Code of Virginia.
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1 e. ) Residential User. The term "residential user" shall mean the
2 owner or tenant of property used primarily for residential purposes,
3 who pays for utility service in or for said property, and shall include,
4 but not by way of limitation, apartment houses and other multiple family
5 dwellings.
6 f. ) Commercial or Industrial User. The term "commercial or
7 industrial user" shall mean the owner or tenant of property used primarily
8 for commerical or industrial purposes, who pays for utility service for
9 said property.
10 g. ) Multiple Family Dwelling. The phrase "multiple family
11 dwelling" shall mean a building or a portion thereof containing two
12 or more dwelling units, but not including hotels or motels.
13 h. ) Dwelling Unit. The term "dwelling unit" shall mean one or
14 more rooms designed or intended for occupancy by a single family.
15 Section 2. Tax Rate; Levy; Procedure as to Payment. There is
16 hereby imposed and levied by the County of Fairfax upon each and every
17 purchaser of a utility service, a tax in the amount of ten per centum
18 (10%) of the charge (exclusive of any Federal tax thereon) made by the
19 seller against the purchaser with respect to each utility service,
20 which tax in every case shall be collected by the seller from the
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1 use of the County of Fairfax at the time that the purchase price or
2 such charge shall become due and payable under the agreement between
3 the purchaser and the seller. Provided, however, that in case any
4 monthly bill submitted by any seller for residential service shall
5 exceed Ten Dollars ($10. 00) for a residential user, there shall be no
6 tax computed on so much of said bill as shall exceed Ten Dollars
7 ($10. 00). In the case of any multiple family dwelling served by a
8 master meter or meters, the tax is limited to the lesser of 10% of
9 the net bill or 10% of an amount calculated at $10. 00 times the dwelling
10 units served. In case any monthly bill submitted by any seller for
11 commercial or industrial service shall exceed One Hundred Dollars
12 ($100. 00) there shall be no tax computed on so much of said bill as
13 shall exceed One Hundred Dollars ($100. 00). In case a bill is submitted
14 by the seller for more than one month's utility service, then the amount
15 of said bill excluded in computing the tax shall be the monthly exclusion
16 allowed herein, multiplied by the number of months for which said bill
17 is submitted. Bills shall be considered monthly bills if submitted
18 twelve (12) times per year for periods of approximately one month each.
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1 Section 3. Collection of Taxes. It shall be the duty of every
2 seller in acting as the tax collecting medium or agency in the County
3 of Fairfax to collect from the purchaser for the use of the County the
4 tax hereby imposed and levied at the time of collecting the purchase
5 price charged, and the taxes collected during each calendar month shall
6 be reported by each seller to the Director of Finance and each seller
7 shall remit the amount of tax shown by said report to have been
8 collected to the Director of Finance on or before the last day of the
9 first calendar month thereafter, together with the name and address of
10 any purchaser who has refused to pay his tax. The required reports
11 shall be in the form required by the Director of Finance.
12 Section 4. Records. Each and every seller shall keep complete
13 records showing all purchases in the County, which records shall show
14 the price charged against each purchaser with respect t o each purchase,
15 the date thereof, and the date of payment thereof, and the amount of
16 tax imposed hereunder, and such records shall be kept open for
17 inspection by the duly authorized agents of the County at reasonable
18 times, and the duly authorized agents of the County shall have the
19 right, power and authority to make transcripts thereof.
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1 Section 5. Exemptions. The United States of America, the
2 State of Virginia and the political subdivisions, boards, commissions
3 and authorities thereof, are hereby exempted from the payment of the
4 tax imposed and levied by this ordinance with respect to the purchase of
5 utility services used by such governmental agencies.
6 Section 6. Exceptions: Pay Telephones; Long Distance, etc.
7 The tax hereby imposed and levied on purchasers with respect to
8 telephone service shall apply to all charges made for local telephone
9 exchange service except as follows: (a) Coin box telephones; No tax
10 shall be imposed on telephone service paid for by inserting coins in
11 coin operated telephones; (b) Flat rate service: With respect to
12 flat rate and flat message rate service, the tax shall apply only to
13 the amount payable for local area service and shall not apply to any
14 specific charge for calls to points outside Fairfax County or to any
15 general charge or rate differential payable for the privilege of calling
16 points outside Fairfax County; (o) Message rate service: Where
17 purchasers of telephone service are charged on a message rate basis,
18 the tax shall apply only to the basic charge for such service and shall
19 not apply to any charge for additional message units.
ts
1 Section 7. Effective Date of Levy. The tax imposed and levied
2 under this ordinance with respect to the purchase of any gas or
3 electric service shall become effective on bills rendered on meter
4 readings, on and after August 1, 1966, and with respect to local
5 telephone service on charges first appearing on bills rendered on
6 August 1, 1966,and thereafter.
7 Section 8. Penalty. Any purchaser failing, refusing or
8 neglecting to pay the tax hereby imposed or levied and any seller
9 violating the provisions hereof, and any officer, agent or employee
10 of any seller violating the provisions hereof, shall upon conviction, be
11 subject to a fine of not more than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00).
12 Each failure, refusal, neglect or violation and each day's continuance
13 thereof, shall constitute a separate offense.
GIVEN under my hand this 29th day of June, 1966.
Edna A. Bicksler
Clerk of said Board