Virginia Code 58.1-659: Collection of tax; penalty
A. The tax levied by this chapter shall be collected and remitted by the communications services provider, but the communications services provider shall separately state the amount of the tax and add such tax to the sales price or charge. Thereafter, the tax shall be a debt from the customer to the communications services provider until paid and shall be recoverable at law in the same manner as other debts.
Attorney's Note
Under the Virginia Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:| Class | Prison | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 misdemeanor | up to 12 months | up to $2,500 |
Terms Used In Virginia Code 58.1-659
- Communications services: means the electronic transmission, conveyance, or routing of voice, data, audio, video, or any other information or signals, including cable 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 the transmission or conveyance. See Virginia Code 58.1-647
- Communications services provider: means every person who provides communications services to customers in the Commonwealth and is or should be registered with the Department as a provider. See Virginia Code 58.1-647
- Customer: means the person who contracts with the seller of communications services. See Virginia Code 58.1-647
- Sales price: means the total amount charged in money or other consideration by a communications services provider for the sale of the right or privilege of using communications services in the Commonwealth, including any property or other services that are part of the sale. See Virginia Code 58.1-647
- State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245
- United States: includes the 50 states, the District of Columbia the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-255
B. Notwithstanding any exemption from taxes that any communications services provider now or hereafter may enjoy under the Constitution or laws of the Commonwealth, or any other state, or of the United States, a communications services provider shall collect the tax from the customer of taxable communications services and shall remit the same to the Tax Commissioner as provided by this chapter.
C. Any communications services provider collecting the communications sales or use tax on transactions exempt or not taxable under this chapter shall remit to the Tax Commissioner such erroneously or illegally collected tax unless or until he can affirmatively show that the tax has been refunded to the customer or credited to his account.
D. Any communications services provider who intentionally neglects, fails, or refuses to collect the tax upon every taxable sale of communications services made by him, or his agents or employees on his behalf, shall be liable for and pay the tax himself. Moreover, any communications services provider who intentionally neglects, fails, or refuses to pay or collect the tax herein provided, either by himself or through his agents or employees, shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
All sums collected by a communications services provider as required by this chapter shall be deemed to be held in trust for the Commonwealth.
2006, c. 780.