ORDINANCE NO. 2016-07
AN ORDINANCE OF THE TOWN OF INDIALANTIC, BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA, RELATING TO THE COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES; MAKING FINDINGS;AMENDING SECTIONS 14-11, 14-12, 14-19, AND 14-21, CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE TOWN OF INDIALANTIC, TO DELETE REFERENCES TO COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES (TELEPHONE AND TELEGRAPH); CREATING SECTIONS 14-24 AND 14-25, CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE TOWN OF INDIALANTIC;PROVIDING INTENT AND DEFINITIONS; PROVIDING FOR A COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES TAX; PROVIDING EXEMPTIONS; PROVIDING THAT NO PERMIT FEES SHALL BE ASSESSED AGAINST COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES PROVIDERS;PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY/INTERPRETATION CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, prior to 2001, the Town levied franchise fees on communications services providers;
WHEREAS, prior to 2001, the Town levied public service or utility tax on communications services providers, such as telephone and telegraph;
WHEREAS, in 2001, the Florida Legislature preempted the ability of municipalities and counties to levy franchise fees on communications services providers and to levy a public service or utility tax on communication services providers, such as telephone and telegraph. See§§16, 38, and 58, Chap. 2000-260, as amended by §§18 and 38, Chap. 2001-140, Laws of Fla;
WHEREAS, in place of the franchise fees and public service tax, the Florida Legislature authorized the levy of a communications services tax. See §§202.12, 202.20, and 202.24, Fla.Stat.;
WHEREAS, the Town Council finds it in the public interest to revise its Code of Ordinances and to provide for the levy of the communications services tax effective nunc pro tunc as provided in Section 202.20(1)(c), Florida Statutes,
BE IT ENACTED BY THE TOWN OF INDIALANTIC, FLORIDA:
SECTION 1. That Section 14-11 of the Code of Ordinances of Indialantic, Florida, is hereby amended to read as follows:
Sec. 1411. Levied.
In addition to all other taxes of every kind now imposed, there is hereby levied by the town on each and every purchase in the town of electricity (not including fuel adjustment), metered or bottled gas (natural or manufactured liquified petroleum gas), local telephone services and water services, a tax equal to ten percent (10%) of the payments received by the seller of such utility service; in the case of individually metered units in a multiunit building, each metered unit shall constitute a separate purchase.
SECTION 2. That Section 14-12 of the Code of Ordinances of Indialantic, Florida, is hereby amended to read as follows:
Sec. 1412. Applicability of tax.
The tax levied by this article on the sale of telephone service shall apply to all charges made for local telephone service except local messages which are paid for by inserting coins in coin-operated telephones; the total amount of the guaranteed charge on each bill rendered for semipublic coinbox telephone service shall be subject to such tax. The tax shall also apply to all sales of electricity and gas whether delivered through the medium of a meter or other measuring devices, or otherwise, to premises located in the town.
SECTION 3. That Section 14-19 of the Code of Ordinances of Indialantic, Florida, is hereby amended to read as follows:
Sec. 1419. Computation.
In all cases where the seller of electricity, metered or bottled gas (natural, liquefied gas or manufactured), local telephone and telegraph, and water services, collects the price thereof at monthly periods, the tax levied by this article may be computed on the aggregate amount of sales during such period. The amount of tax to be collected shall be the nearest whole cent to the amount computed.
SECTION 4. That Section 14-21 of the Code of Ordinances of Indialantic, Florida, is hereby amended to read as follows:
Sec. 1421. Records of sellers.
(a) Every seller of any utility service on which a tax is levied by section 1411 shall keep complete records showing all sales within the town of electricity, metered or bottled gas (natural, liquefied petroleum gas or manufactured), orwaterlocal telephone and telegraph services, which records shall show the price charged upon each sale, the date thereof, and the date of payment thereof.
(b) The records shall, at all reasonable times, be open for inspection by duly authorized agents of the town during business hours on any business day, and the agents shall have authority to make such transcripts thereof as they may desire.
SECTION 5. That the Code of Ordinances of Indialantic, Florida, is hereby amended by adding a new section, to be numbered section 14-24, which said section reads as follows:
ARTICLE III. COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES TAX
Sec. 14-24. Intent; Definitions.
(a)Intent. It is the intent of the town to impose a local
communications services tax upon the sales price of communications services within the town in accordance with chapter 202, Florida Statutes.
(b)Definitions. The following definitions shall apply to
all provisions of this article:
(1)“Communications services” means the transmission, conveyance, or routing of voice, data, audio, video, or any other information or signals, including video services, to a point, or between or among points, by or through any electronic, radio, satellite, cable, optical, microwave, or other medium or method now in existence or hereafter devised, regardless of the protocol used for such transmission or conveyance. The term includes such transmission, conveyance, or routing in which computer processing applications are used to act on the form, code, or protocol of the content for purposes of transmission, conveyance, or routing without regard to whether such service is referred to as voice-over-Internet-protocol services or is classified by the Federal Communications Commission as enhanced or value-added. The term does not include:
(A)Information services.
(B)Installation or maintenance of wiring or equipment on a customer’s premises.
(C)The sale or rental of tangible personal property.
(D)The sale of advertising, including, but not limited to, directory advertising.
(E)Bad check charges.
(F)Late payment charges.
(G)Billing and collection services.
(H)Internet access service, electronic mail service, electronic bulletin board service, or similar online computer services.
(2)“Information service” means the offering of a capability for generating, acquiring, storing, transforming, processing, retrieving, using, or making available information via communications services, including, but not limited to, electronic publishing, web-hosting service, and end-user 900 number service. The term includes data processing and other services that allow data to be generated, acquired, stored, processed, or retrieved and delivered by an electronic transmission to a purchaser whose primary purpose for the underlying transaction is the processed data or information. The term does not include video service.
(3) “Private communications service” means a communications service that entitles the subscriber or user to exclusive or priority use of a communications channel or group of channels between or among channel termination points, regardless of the manner in which such channel or channels are connected, and includes switching capacity, extension lines, stations, and any other associated services that are provided in connection with the use of such channel or channels.
SECTION 6. That the Code of Ordinances of Indialantic, Florida, is hereby amended by adding a new section, to be numbered section 14-25, which said section reads as follows:
Sec. 14-25. Tax levied; No permit fees assessed.
(a)Tax levied.
(1)As provided in and authorized by chapter 202,
Florida Statutes, a communications services tax in the town is hereby levied on each taxable transaction at a rate of 5.80 percent of the sales price of the communications service, that:
(A)Originates and terminates in this state, or
(B)Originates or terminates in this state and is
charged to a service address in this state,
when sold at retail, computed on each taxable sale for the purpose of remitting the tax due.
(2) With respect to private communications services, the tax shall be on the sales price of such services provided within the town, which shall be determined in accordance with the following provisions:
(A) Any charge with respect to a channel termination point located within the town;
(B)Any charge for the use of a channel between two channel termination points located in the town; and
(C)Where channel termination points are located both within and outside of the town:
(I)If any segment between two such channel termination points is separately billed, 50 percent of such charge; and
(II)If any segment of the circuit is not separately billed, an amount equal to the total charge for such circuit multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of channel termination points within the town and the denominator of which is the total number of channel termination points of the circuit.
(3)Exemptions.
(A)The tax imposed under this section does not apply
to any direct-to-home satellite service.
(B)The tax imposed under this section shall not
exceed $25,000 per calendar year on communications services charges billed to a service address located within the town imposing a local communications services tax for interstate communications services that originate outside this state and terminate within this state. This sub-paragraph applies only to holders of a direct-pay permit issued under s. 202.12(3), Florida Statutes.
(b)No permit fees assessed. Effective October 1, 2001, the
town elects not to require the imposition and collection of permit fees from providers of communications services to use or occupy the town’s streets or rights-of-way for the installation of communication services. Pursuant to s. 202.20(1)(c), Florida Statutes, the town does hereby include within the 5.80 percent communications services tax levied, the additional percentage as allowed by law for municipalities that elect not to impose and collect a permit fee for the use of occupancy of the town’s streets or rights-of-way.
SECTION 7. Severability Clause/Interpretation.
(a) In the event that any term, provision, clause, sentence or section of this Ordinance shall be held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be partially or wholly unenforceable or invalid for any reason whatsoever, any such invalidity, illegality, or unenforceability shall not affect any of the other or remaining terms, provisions, clauses, sentences, or sections of this Ordinance, and this Ordinance shall be read and/or applied as if the invalid, illegal, or unenforceable term, provision, clause, sentence, or section did not exist.
(b) That in interpreting this Ordinance, underlined words
indicate additions to existing text, and stricken through words include deletions from existing text. Asterisks (* * * *) indicate a deletion from the Ordinance of text, which exists in the Code of Ordinances. It is intended that the text in the Code of Ordinances denoted by the asterisks and not set forth in this Ordinance shall remain unchanged from the language existing prior to adoption of this Ordinance.
SECTION 8. Effective Date. This Ordinance shall become effective upon adoption of this Ordinance.
PASSED by the Town Council of the Town of Indialantic on first reading on the 9th day of March, 2016, and ADOPTED by the Town Council
of the Town of Indialantic, Florida on finalreading on the 13th day of April, 2016.
TOWN OF INDIALANTIC
______
David Berkman
Mayor
ATTEST:______
Joan Clark
Town Clerk
Indialantic/Communications Services Tax1.Ord2/21/16
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