§ 54-21. Trust status of tax.

(a)

C ity property in trust . All sums of money paid by the consumer to the retailer as taxes imposed by this article shall be and remain public money and the property of the city in possession of such retailer. Such retailer shall hold the same in trust for the sole use and benefit of the city until paid to the finance director as provided in this article. It shall be unlawful for any retailer to fail or refuse to pay such sums of money to the city as provided in this article.

(b)

Segregated account . If a retailer is experiencing financial difficulty, or is delinquent in making payment of sales tax collected, or is using tax money collected for other purposes, the finance director may require that the trust funds be kept segregated in a special account at a bank or other financial institution. Withdrawals from said account shall only be payable to the city. The finance director shall be authorized to make withdrawals from said account. If said account is not kept as required herein, all the property of the taxpayer shall be considered as trust property of the city.

(c)

Obligation to pay . Retailers engaged in business shall collect and purchasers/consumers shall pay the taxes levied by this article notwithstanding the fact that the retailer, purchaser or consumer disputes the tax liability or claims an exemption. Any dispute shall be resolved as provided in section 54-52.

(Code 1985, § 3-3-15)