§ 5.130. Refunds.

(a) Whenever the amount of any utility users’ tax has been overpaid or paid more than once or has been erroneously or illegally collected or received by the Tax Administrator under this Article from a person or service supplier, it may be refunded as provided in this Section.

(b) The Tax Administrator may refund any utility users’ tax that has been overpaid or paid more than once or has been erroneously or illegally collected or received by the Tax Administrator under this Article from any person; provided, however, that no refund shall be paid under the provisions of this Section unless the claimant or his or her guardian, conservator, executor or administrator has submitted a written claim to the Tax Administrator within one year of the overpayment or erroneous or illegal collection of said utility users’ tax. Such claim must clearly establish claimant’s right to the refund by written records showing entitlement thereto. Nothing herein shall permit the filing of a claim on behalf of a class or group of taxpayers unless each member of the class has submitted a written claim under penalty of perjury as provided by this Subdivision.

(c) Pursuant to Section 935 of the Government Code, the filing of a written claim for a refund pursuant to this Section is a prerequisite to any suit thereon. The Tax Administrator, or the City Council where the claim is in excess of $5,000, shall act upon the refund claim within the time period set forth in Section 912.4 of the Government Code. If the Tax Administrator or the City Council, as applicable, fails or refuses to act on a refund claim within the time prescribed by Section 912.4 of the Government Code, the claim shall be deemed to have been rejected by the City Council on the last day of the period within which the City Council was required to act upon the claim as provided in Section 912.4 of the Government Code. The Tax Administrator shall give notice of its action in a form which substantially complies with that set forth in Section 913 of the Government Code.

(d) Notwithstanding the notice provisions of Subdivision (a) of this Section, the Tax Administrator may, at his or her discretion, give written permission to a service supplier, who has collected and remitted any amount of utility users’ tax in excess of the amount of utility users’ Tax imposed by this Article, to claim credit for such overpayment against the amount of utility users’ tax which is due the City upon a subsequent monthly return(s) to the Tax Administrator, provided that (i) such credit is claimed in a return dated no later than one year from the date of overpayment or erroneous collection of said utility users’ tax, (ii) the Tax Administrator is satisfied that the underlying basis and amount of such credit has been reasonably established, and (iii) in the case of an overpayment by a service user to the service supplier that has been remitted to the City, the Tax Administrator has received proof, to his or her satisfaction, that the overpayment has been refunded by the service supplier to the service user in an amount equal to the requested credit.

(e) Notwithstanding Subdivisions (a) through (c) of this Section, a service supplier shall be entitled to take any overpayment as a credit against an underpayment whenever such overpayment has been received by the City within the three years next preceding a deficiency determination or assessment by the Tax Administrator in connection with an audit instituted by the Tax Administrator pursuant to Section 5.128 of this Article. A service supplier shall not be entitled to said credit unless it clearly establishes the right to the credit by written records showing entitlement thereto. Under no circumstances shall an overpayment taken as a credit against an underpayment pursuant to this Subdivision qualify a service supplier for a refund to which it would not otherwise be entitled under the one-year written claim requirement of this Section.

(Ord. No. 1210, § 1.)