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88 A RESOLUTION REQUESTING THAT THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF VIRGINIA ADQPT LEGISLATION CLARIFYING THAT THE SITUS FOR PURPOSES OF THE LOCAL ONE (1%) PERCENT SALES TAX ON FUEL OIL FOR DOMESTIC CON- SUMPTION BE THE LOCATION OF THE ACTUAL SALE AND USE, WHICH IS THE POINT OF ACCEPTANCE OF THE MERCHANDISE FOR USE. WHEREAS, the General Assembly of Virginia, at its 1980 session, passed an Act exempting propane gas, firewood, coal and home heating oil used for domestic consumption from the State three (3%) percent sales tax (Acts 1980, c 756, Acts 1981, c 428), which was amended in the 1981 session so as to change the effective date to October 1, 1981; and WHEREAS, such legislation allows local jurisdictions, the option of retaining the local one (1%) percent sales tax on such fuels used for domestic consUmption; and WHEREAS, the rules and regulations adopted by the Department of Taxation for the Commonwealth of Virginia provides that the situs for purposes of taxation of such fuels used for domestic consumption shall be the business location that first takes the purchaser's order, either in person, by purchase order, or by letter or telephone, regardless of the location of the mer- chandise or the point of acceptance of the order or shipment; and WHEREAS, certain localities in the Tidewater area have optioned to exempt such fuels from taxation as permitted by the enabling legislation while the City of Portsmouth has chose to retain such tax; and WHEREAS, as a result of such differencesin the tax structure of the localities, and the rule and regulation on the situs of sale, persons residing within the City of Portsmouth are required to pay such tax dependent solely upon the location that takes the purchaser's order rather than based upon the location of the actual sale, which would be the delivery point of the merchandise and/or its point of acceptance and use; and WHEREAS, in the opinion of the Council of the City of Ports- mouth, such interpretation of the situs rule results in ~nequal and unfair taxation for persons otherwise similarly situated.