A. There is hereby imposed a tax upon every person other than a gas corporation or electrical corporation, using gas within the City, which is delivered through a pipeline distribution system. The tax imposed by this section shall be at the rate of seven and one-half percent (7.5%) of the charges made for such gas, including all services related to the storage, transportation and delivery of such gas. The tax shall be collected from the service user by the service supplier or non-utility service supplier, or its billing agent.

B. The tax administrator, from time to time, may survey the gas service suppliers to identify the various unbundled billing components of gas retail service that they commonly provide to residential and commercial/industrial customers in the City, and the charges therefor, including those items that are mandated by state or federal regulatory agencies as a condition of providing such gas service. The tax administrator may, thereafter, issue and disseminate to such gas service suppliers an administrative ruling identifying those components and items which are: i) necessary or common to the receipt, use and enjoyment of gas service; or, ii) currently, or historically have been, included in a single or bundled rate for gas service by a local distribution company to a class of retail customers. Unbundled charges for such components and items shall be subject to the tax of subsection (A) above.

C. As used in this section, the term "charges" shall include the value of any other services, credits, property of every kind or nature, or other consideration provided by the service user in exchange for the gas or services related to the delivery of such gas. If a non-taxable service and a taxable service are billed together under a single charge, the entire charge shall be deemed taxable unless the service supplier can reasonably identify charges not subject to the utility users tax based upon its books and records that are kept in the regular course of business, which shall be consistent with generally accepted accounting principles.

D. There shall be excluded from the calculation of the tax imposed in this section:

E. The tax that is calculated on charges for gas provided by self-production or by a non-utility service supplier not under the jurisdiction of this chapter shall be collected and remitted in the manner set forth in Section 7.70.071 of this chapter. All other taxes imposed in this section shall be collected from the service user by the gas service supplier or its billing agent. The amount collected in one (1) month shall be remitted to the tax administrator, and must be received by the tax administrator on or before the last day of the following month; or at the option of the person required to collect and/or remit the tax, such person shall remit an estimated amount of tax measured by the tax billed in the previous month, or upon the payment pattern of the service user, which must be received by the tax administrator on or before the last day of the following month, provided that the service user shall submit an adjusted payment or request for credit, as appropriate, within sixty (60) days following each calendar quarter. The credit, if approved by the tax administrator, may be applied against any subsequent tax bill that becomes due. (Ord. 6580-NS § 1, 2000: Ord. 6190-NS § 1 (part), 1993: Ord. 6183-NS § 1, 1993: Ord. 6172-NS § 1 (part), 1993: Ord. 6059-NS § 3, 1991: Ord. 5821-NS § 3, 1987: Ord. 5592-NS § 1 (part), 1984)