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ORD 81-38 B & O TAXORDINANCE NO. 81 - 3B AN ORDINANCE IMPOSING A BUSINESS AND OCCUPATION TAX UPON CERTAIN BUSINESSES, OCCUPATIONS AND PRIVILEGES, REQUIRING A BUSINESS LICENSE FOR THE SAME, PROVIDING FOR THE COLLECTION THEREOF, DEFINING OFFENSES AND PRESCRIBING PENALTIES, AND REPEALING ORDINANCES 79-43 AND 80-32. WHEREAS, state law no longer permits the taxation of competitive telephone service under the City's power to license utilities for revenue and it is necessary to amend the utility tax ordinance to exclude competitive telephone service; THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WINSLOW DO ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. The provisions of this Ordinance shall be deemed to be an exercise of the power of the City of Winslow to license for revenue. Section 2. The following definitions shall apply: (a) Clerk - shall mean the Clerk/Treasurer or such city employee or agent as the Mayor shall designate (b) Gross Income - shall mean the value proceeding or accruing by reason of the transaction of the business engaged in and includes gross proceeds of sales, compensation for the rendition of services, gains realized from trading in stocks, bonds or other evidences of indebtedness, interest, discount, rents, royalties, fees, commissions, dividends and other emoluments - 1 - however designated, all without any deduction on account of the cost of tangible property sold, the cost of materials used, labor costs, interest, discount, delivery costs, taxes or other expense whatsoever paid or accrued and without any deduction on account of losses. Gross income shall not include charges that are passed on to customers by the taxpayers pursuant to tariffs required by regulatory order to compensate for the cost to the company of tax imposed by this ordinance. "Competitive telephone service" as defined below is not included within the meaning of gross income. (c) "Telephone Business" means the business of providing access to a local telephone network, local telephone network switching service, toll service, or coin telephone services, or providing telephonic, video, data, or similar communica- tion or transmission for hire, via a local telephone network, toll line or channel, or similar communication or transmis- sion system. It includes cooperative or farmer line telephone companies or associations operating an exchange. "Telephone business" does not include the providing of competitive telephone service, nor the providing of cable television service. (d) "Competitive telephone service" means the providing by any person of telephone equipment, apparatus, or service, other than toll service, which is of a type which can be provided by persons that are not subject to regulation as telephone companies under Title 80 RCW and for which a separate charge is made. - 2 - Section 3. After January 1, 1982, no person, firm or corporation shall engage in or carry on any business, occupation, act or privilege for which a tax is imposed by Section 4 of this Ordinance without first having obtained, and being the holder of, a license so to do, to be known as an Occupation License. Each such person, firm or corporation shall promptly apply to the Clerk for such license upon such forms as the Clerk shall prescribe, giving such information as the Clerk shall deem reasonably necessary to enable said Clerk's office to administer and enforce this Ordinance; and, upon acceptance of such application by the Clerk, said Clerk shall thereupon issue such license to the applicant. Such Occupation License shall be personal and non-transferable and shall be valid as long as the licensee shall continue in said business and shall comply with this Ordinance. Section 4. From and after the first utility bill rendered after January 1, 1982, there is hereby levied upon, and there shall be collected from, every person, firm or corporation engaged in carrying on the following business for hire or for sale of a commodity or a service within or partly within the corporate limits of the City of Winslow the tax for the privilege of so doing business as hereinafter defined, to wit: (a) Upon any telephone business there shall be levied a tax equal to /'~ percent ( ~ %) of the total gross income, excluding income from intrastate toll, derived from the operation of such businesses within the City of Winslow. - 3 - (b) Upon any business selling or distributing electric light or power, a tax to be equal to 7 percent ( 7% ) of the total gross income derived from the operation of such business within the City of Winslow~ (c) Upon any business selling, transmitting or distributing water, a tax to be equal to 7 percent ( 7% ) of the total gross income derived from the operation of such business within the City of Winslow. (d) Upon any business providing sewer service, a tax to be equal to 7 percent ( 7% ) of the total gross income from the operation of such business within the City of Winslow. Section 5. The tax imposed by this Ordinance shall be due and payable in quarterly installments and remittance shall be made on or before the last day of the month next succeeding the end of the quarterly period in which the tax accrued. These quarterly periods are as follows: First Quarter - January, February, March Second Quarter - April, May, June Third Quarter July, August, September Fourth Quarter October, November, December The first payment made hereunder shall be made by April 30 for the three month period ending March 31. On or before said due date the taxpayer sh~ll file with the Clerk a written return, upon such form and setting forth such information as the Clerk shall reasonably require, together with the payment of the amount of the tax. -4- Section 6. In computing said tax there shall be deducted from said gross operating revenues the following items: (a) Amounts derived from transactions in inter- state or foreign commerce or from any business which the City is prohibited from taxing under the Constitutions of the United States or the State of Washington; (b) Amounts derived by the taxpayer from the City of Winslow. Section 7. Each taxpayer shall keep records re- flecting the amount of his said gross income and such records shall be open at all reasonable times to the inspection of the Clerk or his duly authorized subordinates, for verification of said tax returns or for the fixing of the tax of a taxpayer who shall fail to make such returns. -5- Section 8. If any person, firm or corporation subject to this Ordinance shall fail to pay any tax required by this Ordinance within thirty (30) days after the due date thereof, there shall be added to such tax a penalty of /~) percent (/~ %) of the amount of such tax, and any tax due under this Ordinance and unpaid, and all penalties thereon, shall constitute a debt to the City and may be collected by court proceedings, which remedy shall be in addition to all other remedies. Any judgment entered in favor of the City shall include recovery by the City of all court costs including attorney fees. Section 9. Any money paid to the City through error or otherwise not in payment of the tax imposed hereby or in excess of such tax shall, upon request of the taxpayer, be credited against any tax due or to become due from such taxpayer hereunder or, upon the taxpayer's ceasing to do business in the City be refunded to the taxpayer. Section 10. Any said person, firm or corporation subject to this Ordinance who shall fail or refuse to apply for an Occupation License or to make said tax returns or to pay said tax when due, or who shall make any false statement or representation in or in connection with any such application for an Occupation License or such tax return, or shall otherwise violate or refuse or fail to comply with this Ordinance, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction. thereof shall be punished by a fine not to exceed Five Hundred Dollars ($500) or by imprisonment not to exceed six months, or by both. Section 11. Whenever the boundaries of said City are extended by annexation, all persons, firms and corporations subject to this Ordinance will be provided copies of all Annexation Ordinances by the City of Winslow. -6- Section 12. The invalidity or unconstitutionality of any provision or section of this Ordinance shall not render any other provision or section of this Ordinance invalid or unconstitutional. Section 13. The Clerk is hereby authorized to adopt, publish and enforce, from time to time, such rules and regulations for the proper administration of this Ordinance as shall be necessary, and it shall be a violation of this Ordinance to violate or to fail to comply with any such rule or regulation lawfully promulgated hereunder. Section 14. Ordinances 79-43 and 80-32 are hereby repealed in their entirity upon effective date of this Ordinance. Section 15. Effective Date. This Ordinance shall take effect five days (5) after posting it in a manner provided by law. PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WINSLOW THIS 17th DAY OF December , 198] Alice B. Tawresey, May~ Clerk/Treasurer - 7 - AS TO F~M~ ~ Thorn s M. WatCh C i ty ~Attorney I do hereby certify this Ordinance was signed by the Mayor this c~? ~ day ~ the Ferry Terminal, Chamb r of commerce, city Hall. Effective /~/~2~/ - 8 -