58.1-2901 - Collection and remittance of tax.
§ 58.1-2901. Collection and remittance of tax.
A. The provider of billing services shall collect the tax from the consumerby adding it as a separate charge to the consumer's monthly statement. Untilthe consumer pays the tax to such provider of billing services, the tax shallconstitute a debt of the consumer to the Commonwealth, localities, and theState Corporation Commission. If any consumer receives and pays forelectricity but refuses to pay the tax on the bill that is imposed by §58.1-2900, the provider of billing services shall notify the StateCorporation Commission of the name and address of such consumer. If anyconsumer fails to pay a bill issued by a provider of billing servicesincluding the tax that is imposed by § 58.1-2900, the provider of billingservices shall follow its normal collection procedures with respect to thecharge for electric service and the tax, and upon collection of the bill orany part thereof shall (i) apportion the net amount collected between thecharge for electric service and the tax and (ii) remit the tax portion to theState Corporation Commission and the appropriate locality. After the consumerpays the tax to the provider of billing services, the taxes collected shallbe deemed to be held in trust by such provider until remitted to the StateCorporation Commission and the appropriate locality.
When determining the amount of tax to collect from consumers of an electricutility that is a cooperative which purchases, for the purpose of resalewithin the Commonwealth, electricity from a federal entity that made paymentsduring such taxable period to the Commonwealth in lieu of taxes in accordancewith a federal law requiring such payments to be calculated on the basis ofsuch federal entity's gross proceeds from the sale of electricity, theprovider of billing services shall deduct from each of the respective taxamounts calculated in accordance with § 58.1-2900 an amount equal to thecalculated tax amounts multiplied by the ratio that the total cost of thepower, including facilities rental, supplied by said federal entity to saidcooperative for resale within the Commonwealth bears to said cooperative'stotal operating revenue within the Commonwealth for the taxable period. TheState Corporation Commission may audit the records and books of saidcooperative to verify that the tax imposed by this chapter has been correctlydetermined and properly remitted.
B. A provider of billing services shall remit monthly to the Commission theamount of tax paid during the preceding month by the provider of billingservices' consumers, except for (i) amounts added on the bills to utilitiesowned and operated by municipalities which are collected by the entityproviding transmission directly to such utilities (or an association oragency of which the municipality is a member), which they shall remitdirectly to the Commission and (ii) the portion which represents the localconsumption tax, which portion shall be remitted to the locality in which theelectricity was consumed and shall be based on such locality's license feerate which it imposed. Amounts of the tax that are added on the bills toutilities owned and operated by municipalities, which are collected by theentity providing transmission directly to such utilities (or an associationor agency of which the municipality is a member), shall be remitted monthlyby such entity to the Commission, except that the portion which representsthe local consumption tax shall be remitted to the locality in which theelectricity was consumed and shall be based on such locality's license feerate which it imposed.
C. The electric utility consumption tax shall be remitted monthly, on orbefore the last day of the succeeding month of collection. Those portions ofthe electric utility consumption tax that relate to the state consumption taxand the special regulatory tax shall be remitted to the Commission; theportion that relates to the local consumption tax shall be remitted to thelocalities. Failure to remit timely will result in a ten percent penalty.
D. Taxes on electricity sales in the year ending December 31, 2000, relatingto the local license tax, shall be paid in accordance with § 58.1-3731.Monthly payments in accordance with subsection C shall commence on February28, 2001.
E. For purposes of this section, "service provider" means the person whodelivers electricity to the consumer and "provider of billing services"means the person who bills a consumer for electric services rendered. If boththe service provider and another person separately and directly bill aconsumer for electricity service, then the service provider shall beconsidered the "provider of billing services."
F. The portion of the electric utility consumption tax relating to the localconsumption tax replaces and precludes localities from imposing a license taxin accordance with § 58.1-3731 and the business, professional, occupation andlicense tax in accordance with Chapter 37 (§ 58.1-3700 et seq.) on electricsuppliers subsequent to December 31, 2000, except as provided in subsectionD. If the license fee rate imposed by a locality is less than the equivalentof the local consumption tax rate component of the consumption tax paid undersubsection A of § 58.1-2900, the excess collected by the Commission shallconstitute additional state consumption tax revenue and shall be remitted bythe Commission to the state treasury. However, effective January 1, 2003, anylocality that failed to comply with the requirements of this subsection byDecember 31, 2000, regarding the local license tax, shall receive therevenues generated on or after January 1, 2003, by the local consumption taxcomponent paid under subsection A by the citizens of such locality. Suchlocality shall be entitled to the maximum amount as if the locality hadimposed the license tax, in accordance with the provisions of § 58.1-3731 atthe maximum rate allowed, provided that the governing body of such localityadopts an ordinance electing to receive such amounts.
G. The Department of Taxation may audit the books and records of any electricutility owned and operated by a municipality (or an association or agency ofwhich the municipality is a member) to verify that the tax imposed by thischapter has been correctly determined and properly remitted to the Commission.
H. The State Corporation Commission may audit the books and records of anyservice provider or provider of billing services, except as provided insubsection G, to verify that the tax imposed by this chapter has beencorrectly determined and properly remitted to the Commission.
(1999, c. 971; 2000, cc. 427, 614; 2001, cc. 748, 829, 861; 2002, cc. 339,502.)