John H. Douglas and Jean Douglas v‪.‬

RABINOWITZ, Chief Justice. OPINION. This appeal arises from a class action brought by the Douglases against the Kenai Peninsula Borough, Glacier State Telephone Company, and various municipalities within the Borough over the imposition of local sales taxes on long-distance phone calls charged to phones within the Borough. The issues presented are whether the superior court erred in granting partial summary judgment against the Douglases on their claim that the sales tax was invalid under the commerce clause, whether the superior court erred in subsequently dismissing the action against the Borough and Glacier State under Civil Rule 12(b)(6), and whether the trial court erred in awarding attorney's fees to Glacier State. The Kenai Peninsula Borough Sales Tax is a tax of three percent levied on the gross sales price of any retail sale, on all rents, and on all services made or rendered within the Borough.... 1 Service is defined to include telephone services and repairs. 2 The tax is imposed upon the buyer, with the seller of the service obligated to collect the tax as a certified tax collector of the Borough. 3 Glacier State, as a seller of telephone services within the Borough, collected the sales tax from its customers pursuant to the ordinance for a period of about ten years prior to June, 1974. Glacier State collected the tax on the total amount it billed its customers for services each month. Thus the tax was assessed on charges to phones located within the Borough for calls made to or from phones located outside the Borough, as well as charges for calls completed entirely within the Borough boundaries.