§ 82-32. Duty of seller as to collection of tax; liability for failure to collect; discontinuance of service for failure to pay bill.

It shall be the duty of every seller of the public services described in section 82-31 to collect from the purchaser for the use of the city the tax hereby levied at the time of collecting the selling price charged for each transaction, and to report and pay over, on or before the 15th day of each calendar month, unto the cash management coordinator of the city, all such taxes levied and collected during the preceding calendar month. Such tax collections, as described in section 82-31, which do not reach the finance department within 25 days after the first of each month after collection will be considered delinquent. All such taxes due from the preceding month shall be subject to interest on the unpaid amount at a rate of one percent per month, or any fraction thereof, from the due date until such time as the payments are received by the city. It shall be unlawful for any seller of the public services described in section 82-31 to collect the price of any sale without, at the same time, collecting the tax hereby levied in respect to such sale unless such seller shall elect to assume and pay such tax without collecting the tax 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 city for the amount of such tax in like manner as if the tax had been actually paid to the seller; and the cash management coordinator shall cause to be brought all suits and actions and to take all proceedings in the name of the city as may be necessary for the recovery of such tax; provided that the seller shall not be liable for the payment of such tax upon uncollected bills. If any purchaser shall fail, neglect or refuse to pay 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 on the seller's bill shall have been paid in full.

(Code 1979, § 29-17)