§ 66-179. Collection generally and disposition of tax; discontinuance of service upon failure of purchaser to pay tax and seller's charge.

(a)

It shall be the duty of every seller of telecommunications service to collect from the purchaser for the use of the town the tax levied by section 66-178, at the time of collecting the selling price charged for each transaction and to file a return and remit on or before the 20th day of each calendar month, or if the 20th day is either a legal holiday or is not a town business day, then on or before the first town business day, that is not also a legal holiday, following the 20th day of the month, unto the finance director of the town all such taxes levied and collected the price of any sale of telecommunications service without, at the time, collecting the tax hereby levied in respect to such sales, unless such seller shall elect to assume and pay such tax without collecting the same from the purchaser. Any seller failing to collect such tax at the time of collecting the price of any sale where the seller has not elected to assume and pay such tax shall be liable to the town for the amount of such tax in like manner as if the same had actually been paid to the seller, and the mayor of the town shall cause to be brought all suit actions and to take all proceedings in the name of the town as may be necessary for the recovery of such tax; provided, however, that the seller shall not be liable for the payment of such tax upon uncollected charges. If any purchaser shall fail, neglect or refuse to pay to the seller, the seller's charge and the tax hereby imposed and as hereby required on account of the sale for which such charge is made, or either, the seller shall have and is hereby vested with the right, power and authority to immediately discontinue further service to such purchaser until the tax and the seller's bill shall have been paid in full.

(b)

For the purpose of compensating the seller of telecommunications service, the seller shall be allowed one percent of the amount of the tax collected and due to the town in the form of a deduction from the amount collected for remittance. The deduction shall be allowed as compensation for keeping of records and for the collection of and the remitting of, the tax. This deduction shall not be allowed in the event of an untimely return, unless the seller has in writing requested and been granted an extension of time for filing such return in accordance with F.S. § 166.231(9)(f).

(c)

Sellers remitting tax collections of $10,000.00 or more, on average, per month over a period of three consecutive months shall thereafter, beginning in the month immediately following the third consecutive month, make all tax remittances to the town's primary bank by electronic transfer using the ACH system, or other electronic means as may be approved by the city finance director on a case-by-case basis. Those sellers, meeting this criteria shall continue remittances by electronic transfer regardless of whether the seller's average collections fall below the $10,000.00 threshold for any subsequent consecutive three-month period. All other sellers may remit by hand-delivery, postal service, or electronic transfer. However, if a seller elects to remit by electronic transfer, that seller shall thereafter always remit by electronic transfer.

(d)

Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, in the event the total amount of tax anticipated to be collected within a calendar quarter does not exceed $120.00, the seller of such service may, with the written authorization of the town, remit the taxes collected during such calendar quarter to the town quarterly. In such case, the tax shall be due on or before the 20th day of the month following the end of the calendar quarter in which the taxes were collected.

(Code 1999, § 74-143; Ord. No. 99-13, § 3, 10-21-1999)