Clovis Municipal Code Art. 1 Registration and Tax Certificate

[1]

Article 1 entitled “General Provisions”, consisting of Sections 3.1.101 through 3.1.121, codified from Ordinance No. 248, as amended by Ordinance No. 261, amended in its entirety by Ordinance No. 79-18, effective July 1, 1979.

It shall be unlawful for any person, either for himself or for any other person, to commence or carry on any business in the City for which a business tax certificate is required pursuant to this article without having registered the business and procured a business tax certificate from the City, and the carrying on of any business without first having registered the business and procured a tax certificate from the City shall constitute a separate violation of this Code for each and every day such business is so carried on.

(§ 1, Ord. 79-18, eff. July 1, 1979; § 1, Ord. 18-17, eff. August 8, 2018)

For the purposes of this chapter, unless otherwise apparent from the context, certain words and phrases used in this chapter are defined as follows:

(a)

“Business”

shall mean and include all activities engaged in, or caused to be engaged in, within the City with the object of gain, benefit, or advantage, whether direct or indirect, to the taxpayer or to another or to others but shall not include the services rendered by an employee to his employer or a casual or isolated transaction. Although an activity of a taxpayer may be incidental to another or other of his business activities, each such activity shall be considered to be business engaged in within the meaning of this article.

(b)

“Sale” or “sell”

shall mean and include and refer to the making of any transfer of title, in any manner or by any means whatsoever, to property for a price and to the serving, supplying, or furnishing, for a price, of any property fabricated or made at the special order of consumers who do or do not furnish directly or indirectly the specifications therefor. A transaction whereby the possession of property is transferred, but the seller retains the title as security for the payment of the price, shall likewise be deemed a sale. The definitions set forth in this subsection shall not be deemed to exclude any transaction which is or which, in effect, results in a sale within the contemplation of the law.

(c)

“Engaging in business”

shall mean commencing, conducting, or continuing in business and also the exercise of corporate or franchise powers as well as liquidating a business when the liquidators thereof hold themselves out to the public as conducting such business.

(d)

“Gross receipts,”

except as otherwise specifically provided, shall mean the gross receipts of the preceding fiscal year, or part thereof, of the tax certificate holder and is defined as the total amount actually received or receivable from all sales; the total amount of compensation actually received or receivable for the performance of any act or service, of whatever nature it may be, for which a charge is made or credit allowed, whether or not such act or service is done as a part of, or in connection with, the sale of materials, goods, wares, or merchandise; and gains realized from trading in stocks or bonds, interest discounts, rents, royalties, fees, commissions, dividends, or other emoluments, however designated. Included in “gross receipts” shall be all receipts, cash, credits, and property of any kind or nature, without any deduction therefrom on account of the cost of the property sold, the cost of materials used, labor or service costs, interest paid or payable, or losses or other expenses whatsoever, except that the following shall be excluded therefrom:

(1)

Cash discounts allowed and taken on sales;

(2)

Credit allowed on property accepted as a part of the purchase price and which property may later be sold, at which time the sale price shall be included as gross receipts;

(3)

Any tax required by law to be included in or added to the purchase price and collected from the consumer or purchaser;

(4)

Such part of the sales price of property returned by purchasers upon the rescission of a contract of sale as is refunded either in cash or by credit;

(5)

Receipts of refundable deposits, except that such deposits when forfeited and taken into the income of the business shall not be excluded;

(6)

Amounts collected for others where the business is acting as an agent or trustee to the extent that such amounts are paid to those for whom collected, provided the agent or trustee has furnished the Finance Department with the names and addresses of the others and the amounts paid to them. This exclusion shall not apply to any fees, percentages, or other payments retained by the agent or trustee;

(7)

The cash value of sales, trade, or transactions between departments or units of the same business;

(8)

Transactions between a partnership and its partners;

(9)

Receipts from services or sales in transactions between affiliated corporations. An affiliated corporation is a corporation:

(i)

When the voting and nonvoting stock of which is owned at least eighty percent (80%) by such other corporation with which such transaction is had; or

(ii)

Which owns at least eighty percent (80%) of the voting and nonvoting stock of such other corporation; or

(iii)

When at least eighty percent (80%) of the voting and nonvoting stock is owned by a common parent corporation which also has such ownership of the corporation with which such transaction is had;

(10)

Receipts from investments where the holder of the investment receives only interest and/or the dividends; and

(11)

Receipts derived from the occasional sale of used, obsolete, or surplus trade fixtures, machinery, or other equipment used by the tax certificate holder in the regular course of the tax certificate holder’s business.

(§ 1, Ord. 79-18, eff. July 1, 1979; § 1, Ord. 18-17, eff. August 8, 2018)

A separate tax certificate shall be obtained for each and every branch establishment or separate place of business in which a business is carried on, except where prohibited by law. Where more than one type of business is conducted at a single location, a tax certificate shall be acquired, based upon the primary type of business conducted thereat. Where more than one business is conducted from a single location and such businesses are operated by or under separate owners, a tax certificate shall be acquired for each business under the names of such owners. It is not the intent of this section to require a separate registration fee where an entity carries on a business activity included in a single Clovis Tax Certificate Classification Manual classification even though the owner operates under more than one business name. For the purposes of this section, entities under identical ownership conducting business on one premises shall be subject to one tax certificate with all gross receipts subject to the tax certificate fee required by this chapter.

(§ 1, Ord. 79-18, eff. July 1, 1979; § 1, Ord. 18-17, eff. August 8, 2018)

The term “registration” and/or “tax certificate,” as used in this chapter, shall not be construed to mean a permit. The payment of the registration fee required by this chapter, and its acceptance by the City, and the issuance of a tax certificate to any person shall not entitle the holder thereof to carry on any business unless he has complied with all of the requirements of this Code and all other applicable laws, nor to carry on any business in any building or on any premises designated in such registration and/or tax certificate in the event such building or premises are situated in a zone or locality in which the conduct of such business is in violation of any law.

(§ 1, Ord. 79-18, eff. July 1, 1979; § 1, Ord. 18-17, eff. August 8, 2018)

Every person required to have a tax certificate under the business registration and tax certificate provisions of this chapter shall make an application for the registration and tax certificate to the Finance Department and, upon the payment of the prescribed fee to the Finance Department, the Finance Department shall issue to such person a tax certificate which shall contain:

(a) The name of the person to whom the tax certificate is issued;

(b) The business registered;

(c) The place where such business is to be carried on;

(d) The date of the expiration of such tax certificate; and

(e) Such other information as the Finance Department shall determine.

(§ 1, Ord. 79-18, eff. July 1, 1979; § 1, Ord. 18-17, eff. August 8, 2018)

All annual business registration and tax certificates issued under this chapter, except the first tax certificate issued to newly established businesses, shall be considered to be issued on January 1 of each year and shall expire on December 31 of the same year. However, all annual registration and tax certificate renewals are not delinquent through the renewal period of March 15 of the following year if all provisions of the renewal are met.

(§ 1, Ord. 79-18, eff. July 1, 1979; § 1, Ord. 09-13, eff. August 5, 2009; § 1, Ord. 18-17, eff. August 8, 2018)

(a) Every person subject to a tax certificate fee or registration fee, before the tax certificate fee or registration fee becomes delinquent, shall file with the Finance Department a written statement setting forth the then applicable factor or factors which constitute the measure of the registration fee, together with such other information as shall be required by the Finance Department to enable it to administer the provisions of this chapter, and shall pay at such time the amount of the fee computed thereon.

(b) The written statement provided for in this section shall be on a form prescribed by the Finance Department and shall include a declaration substantially as follows:

(§ 1, Ord. 79-18, eff. July 1, 1979; § 1, Ord. 18-17, eff. August 8, 2018)

A person applying for the first registration and tax certificate for a newly established business or change of ownership of an existing business shall pay a registration fee based on an estimate of the gross receipts for the remainder of the tax certification period at a rate per thousand dollars of gross receipts as specified in Section 3.1.201. The minimum fee for registration and a tax certificate shall be as specified in Section 3.1.201.

(§ 1, Ord. 79-18, eff. July 1, 1979; § 1, Ord. 18-17, eff. August 8, 2018)

In addition to the information required to be included in the written statement of the applicant for a first registration and tax certificate, and of the tax certificate holder for a renewal of tax certificate, as provided in Sections 3.1.105 and 3.1.107, each applicant and tax certificate holder who is subject to the Contractors License Law shall state that he is licensed under such law, that his license is in full force and effect, and the number thereof or, if he is exempt from the provisions of the Contractors License Law, proof of the facts which entitle him to such exemption.

(§ 1, Ord. 79-18, eff. July 1, 1979; § 1, Ord. 18-17, eff. August 8, 2018)

No statement required by this chapter shall be conclusive upon the City or any department, officer, or agent thereof, and whenever it shall appear to the satisfaction of the Finance Department, and it shall have reason to believe that such statement does not set forth the true facts of the business for which a tax certificate is required, the Finance Department may withhold the issuance of a tax certificate therefor until such time as the applicant shall furnish to the Finance Department satisfactory evidence of the truth of such statement. If such evidence is not furnished to the Finance Department within a reasonable time, or should it at any time appear to the Finance Department that, by reason of error, misrepresentation, fraud, or any other cause whatsoever, the registration and tax certificate fee has not been properly fixed for any tax certificate issued, the Finance Department shall give not less than five (5) days’ written notice to the tax certificate holder to show cause, at a time and place fixed in such notice, why a fee, to be determined by the Finance Department and specified in such notice, should not be fixed for such tax certificate. At such hearing the tax certificate holder shall appear and offer evidence why such specified fee should not be fixed as the tax certificate fee. After such hearing, or in the event the tax certificate holder fails to appear, the Finance Department shall determine the proper fee to be charged and shall forthwith give written notice to the tax certificate holder of such determination and the amount of such fee.

Any fee finally determined shall be due and payable as of the date the original registration fee was due and payable, together with any penalty which may be due thereon; provided, however, if such fee shall be fixed in accordance with the original statement of the tax certificate holder, no penalty shall attach to such fee by reason of any delinquency.

(§ 1, Ord. 79-18, eff. July 1, 1979; § 1, Ord. 18-17, eff. August 8, 2018)

In the administration of this chapter, the Finance Department may require any person, as an applicant or past or present tax certificate holder, to produce for inspection and review all material and relevant books, records, documents, returns, and other information reasonably necessary to validate and/or substantiate any information supplied to the City or required to be supplied to the City for the purposes of this chapter. The City may require that copies of such information be supplied to the City or its agents for review; provided, however, confidentiality shall be maintained pursuant to Section 3.1.111.

(§ 1, Ord. 87-17, eff. August 19, 1987; § 1, Ord. 18-17, eff. August 8, 2018)

The statements filed pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall be deemed confidential, except for the owners’ and/or managers’ names and business addresses, and shall not be subject to public inspections and shall be kept so that the contents thereof shall not become known, except to the persons charged with the administration of this chapter and to officers of other public agencies for the purposes of investigation.

Any officer or employee who shall willfully violate any provision of this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished as provided in this Code, and such violation shall be cause for discharge from the City’s service.

(§ 1, Ord. 79-18, eff. July 1, 1979; § 1, Ord. 18-17, eff. August 8, 2018)

No registration and tax certificate granted or issued under the business registration and tax certificate provisions of this chapter shall be in any manner transferred or assigned or authorize any person, other than the person named in the tax certificate, to carry on the business therein named or to transact such business in any place other than the place or location therein named. The registration and tax certificate may be transferred because the location of the business changes. At the time such registration and tax certificate is transferred for a change of location, the person applying for such transfer or change shall pay to the Finance Department a fee as specified in Section 3.1.201.

(§ 1, Ord. 79-18, eff. July 1, 1979; § 1, Ord. 18-17, eff. August 8, 2018)

Every person having a tax certificate and carrying on a business at a fixed place of business shall keep such tax certificate posted and exhibited while in force in some conspicuous part of such place of business.

Every person having such a tax certificate and not having a fixed place of business shall carry such tax certificate with him/her at all times while carrying on the business for which the tax certificate was granted.

(§ 1, Ord. 79-18, eff. July 1, 1979; § 1, Ord. 18-17, eff. August 8, 2018)

The Finance Department shall make a charge as specified in Section 3.1.201 for each duplicate tax certificate issued to replace any tax certificate issued under the business registration and tax certificate provisions of this chapter which has been lost or destroyed. The applicant shall make satisfactory proof of such loss.

(§ 1, Ord. 79-18, eff. July 1, 1979; § 1, Ord. 18-17, eff. August 8, 2018)

All tax certificates required by this chapter shall be annual tax certificates from January 1 to December 31 of each year, unless otherwise provided. All annual tax certificates will not be considered delinquent through the renewal period of March 15 of the following year if all provisions of the renewal are met. Every annual registration and tax certificate fee which is due under this chapter may be paid in two (2) installments. The first installment shall be due on or before March 15 of each year and shall be fifty percent (50%) or more of the tax certificate fee due. The second installment shall be due by July 1 of the same year and shall be the balance left owing after the first installment.

(§ 1, Ord. 79-18, eff. July 1, 1979; as amended by § 1, Ord. 79-32, eff. September 5, 1979, and § 1, Ord. 81-42, eff. January 13, 1982; § 1, Ord. 09-13, eff. August 5, 2009; § 1, Ord. 18-17, eff. August 8, 2018)

Installments of registration and tax certificate fees not paid by March 1 or July 1, or within fifteen (15) days after commencing business for a newly established business, are hereby declared delinquent, and the Finance Department shall thereupon add to such registration and tax certificate fees and collect a penalty of twenty-five percent (25%) of the registration and tax certificate fees so delinquent.

(§ 1, Ord. 79-18, eff. July 1, 1979; § 1, Ord. 18-17, eff. August 8, 2018)

In addition to the penalties imposed, any person who fails to remit any registration and tax certificate fee imposed by the business registration and tax certificate provisions of this chapter shall pay interest, at the maximum rate as provided by law, on the amount of the fee and penalties from the date on which the registration and tax certificate fee first became delinquent until paid.

(§ 1, Ord. 79-18, eff. July 1, 1979; § 1, Ord. 18-17, eff. August 8, 2018)

The amount of any registration and tax certificate fee and penalty imposed by this chapter shall be deemed a debt to the City, and any person carrying on any business without first having procured a tax certificate from the City shall be liable to an action in the name of the City in any court of competent jurisdiction for the amount of the registration and tax certificate fee and penalties imposed on such business.

(§ 1, Ord. 79-18, eff. July 1, 1979; § 1, Ord. 18-17, eff. August 8, 2018)

The conviction and punishment of any person for transacting any business without a tax certificate shall not excuse or exempt such person from the payment of any registration and tax certificate fee due or unpaid at the time of such conviction, and nothing herein shall prevent a criminal prosecution of any violation of the business registration and tax certificate provisions of this chapter.

(§ 1, Ord. 79-18, eff. July 1, 1979; § 1, Ord. 18-17, eff. August 8, 2018)

The Director of Finance or his designated employees shall be deemed inspectors pursuant to the provisions of this chapter and shall have the following powers and duties:

(a) To examine all places of business and persons in the City liable to pay a registration and tax certificate fee to see that such tax certificates are taken out;

(b) To enter free of charge, at any time, any place of business for which a tax certificate is required by the provisions of this chapter and to demand the exhibition of such tax certificate for the current term by any person engaged or employed in the transaction of such business; if any such person shall then and there fail to exhibit such tax certificate, such person shall be liable to the penalties provided for violations of the provisions of this chapter;

(c) To cause complaints to be filed against all persons violating any of the provisions of this chapter;

(d) To collect and receive all registration and tax certificate fees imposed by this chapter and to keep an accurate record thereof; and

(e) To prescribe, adopt, and enforce rules and regulations relating to the administration and enforcement of this chapter, including provisions for the reexamination and correction of returns and payments, and may prescribe the extent of which any ruling or regulation shall be applied without retroactive effect.

(§ 1, Ord. 79-18, eff. July 1, 1979; § 1, Ord. 18-17, eff. August 8, 2018)

Whenever the amount of any registration fee, penalty, or interest has been paid more than once, or has been erroneously or illegally collected by the City under this article, such amount may be refunded provided a verified claim in writing therefor, stating the specific grounds upon which such claim is founded, is filed with the Director of Finance within three (3) years after the date of payment. The claim shall be audited by the Director of Finance or his designated employees and shall be made on forms provided by the Director of Finance. If the claim is approved by the Director of Finance, the excess amount collected may be refunded or may be credited on any amounts then due and payable from the person from whom it was collected, and the balance may be refunded to such person or to his administrators or executors.

No refund of any registration fee paid under this chapter shall be made by virtue of the discontinuance, dissolution, or other termination of a business.

(§ 1, Ord. 79-18, eff. July 1, 1979; § 1, Ord. 18-17, eff. August 8, 2018)

(a) The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to any person, association, corporation, or property as to whom or which it is beyond the power of the Council to impose the registration fees provided for.

(b) Any person claiming an exemption from the business registration fees imposed by this chapter by virtue of this section shall submit to the Finance Department a statement, signed under penalty of perjury, setting forth the facts necessary to establish such claim of exemption.

(§ 1, Ord. 79-18, eff. July 1, 1979; § 1, Ord. 18-17, eff. August 8, 2018)

When, by reason of the provisions of the Constitution of the State, the registration fees imposed by this chapter cannot be enforced without there being an apportionment according to the amount of business done in the City or in the State, as the case may be, the Director of Finance may make such rules and regulations for the apportionment of the fees as are necessary or desirable to overcome the constitutional objection.

(§ 1, Ord. 79-18, eff. July 1, 1979; § 1, Ord. 18-17, eff. August 8, 2018)

The Director of Finance or any authorized employee is hereby authorized to examine the books, papers, and records relating to the registration and tax certificate fees of any person subject to this chapter for the purpose of verifying the accuracy of any return made or, if no return was made, to ascertain the registration and tax certificate fees due. Every tax certificate holder or supposed tax certificate holder is hereby directed and required to furnish to the Director of Finance, or his duly authorized agent or employee, the means, facilities, and opportunity for making such examinations and investigations as are hereby authorized. The Director of Finance is hereby authorized to examine any person, under oath, for the purpose of verifying the accuracy of any return made or, if no return was made, to ascertain the business registration and tax certificate fees due and, for this purpose, may compel the production of books, papers, and records relating to registration and tax certificate fees and the attendance of all persons before him, whether as parties or witnesses, whenever he believes such persons have knowledge of such matters.

The refusal of such an examination by an employer or person subject, or presumed to be subject, to the registration and tax certificate fees shall be deemed a violation of this chapter. Such examination shall not violate client confidentiality.

(§ 1, Ord. 79-18, eff. July 1, 1979; § 1, Ord. 18-17, eff. August 8, 2018)

The Council, upon the written recommendation of the Director of Finance that any person, by reason of physical infirmity, unavoidable misfortune, or unavoidable poverty, merits an exemption from the operation of any registration and tax certificate required by any provision of this Code or by any law of the City, may allow such person an exemption of one free tax certificate for the conduct of any one business registered by any provision of this Code; provided, however, when it appears that the conditions which warranted an exemption under this section no longer exist, the Director of Finance shall make a recommendation to the Council as to the revocation of such exemption, and the Council shall make a determination thereof.

(§ 1, Ord. 79-18, eff. July 1, 1979; § 1, Ord. 18-17, eff. August 8, 2018)

Any person who is honorably discharged or honorably relieved from the Armed Forces of the United States and a resident of the State may hawk, peddle, and vend within the City any goods, wares, or merchandise owned by the veteran, except spirituous, malt, vinous, or other intoxicating liquors, without the payment of any business registration or tax certificate fee whatsoever, and the Council shall issue to the person a tax certificate therefor without cost.

(§ 1, Ord. 79-18, eff. July 1, 1979; § 1, Ord. 18-17, eff. August 8, 2018; § 1, Ord. 25-03, eff. April 16, 2025)

A person who is honorably discharged or honorably relieved from the Armed Forces of the United States and is a resident of the State shall not be required to pay any business registration or tax certificate fee or any business license fees for a business selling or providing services if the veteran is the sole proprietor of the business.

(§ 2, Ord. 25-03, eff. April 16, 2025)

An active duty or reservist military personnel who is a member of the Armed Forces of the United States shall not be required to pay any business registration or tax certificate fee or any business license fees for a business selling or providing services if the military personnel is the sole proprietor of the business.

(§ 3, Ord. 25-03, eff. April 16, 2025)

No business tax certificate by this article shall be required of any nonprofit institution, corporation, organization, or association, organized or conducted for nonprofit purposes only, when the receipts derived are to be wholly for the benefit of such organization and not in whole or in part for the private gain of any person. This exemption shall not apply to promoters employed by such nonprofit institutions, corporations, organizations, or associations.

(§ 1, Ord. 79-18, eff. July 1, 1979; § 1, Ord. 18-17, eff. August 8, 2018)

A tax certificate holder operating a warehouse solely for the purpose of servicing the retail, wholesale, or manufacturing activities of such tax certificate holder within the City shall not be subject to a separate registration fee for such warehousing operations.

(§ 1, Ord. 79-18, eff. July 1, 1979; § 1, Ord. 18-17, eff. August 8, 2018)

Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to require the inclusion in the computation of the amount of the registration and tax certificate fees due under this chapter the gross receipts of sales of goods which are shipped by the seller to points outside the State.

(§ 1, Ord. 79-18, eff. July 1, 1979; § 1, Ord. 18-17, eff. August 8, 2018)

The provisions of this chapter shall not be construed to authorize any act prohibited by any law of the State or of the City for the conduct of any business for which a permit from any City department is required until such permit is obtained.

(§ 1, Ord. 79-18, eff. July 1, 1979; § 1, Ord. 18-17, eff. August 8, 2018)

For the purpose of this chapter, those businesses whose registration fees are on the basis of gross receipts shall be categorized on the basis of the Clovis Business Registration and Tax Certificate Classification Manual. The Manual may be amended by the Director of Finance if, based on information provided to him, such change in classification, as determined by the Director of Finance, would be reasonable.

(§ 1, Ord. 79-18, eff. July 1, 1979; § 1, Ord. 18-17, eff. August 8, 2018)

At the time this article, as amended by Ordinance No. 18-17, goes into effect, the provisions of Ordinance No. 79-18 shall be suspended and shall not again be of any force or effect until and unless the provisions of this article, as adopted by Ordinance No. 18-17, is determined to be invalid. In the event it is determined that this article, as adopted by Ordinance No. 18-17, is invalid, then the provisions of Ordinance No. 79-18 pertaining to the provisions of the invalidated section or sections shall be deemed to have been in full force and effect at all times from the adoption thereof, and in the event it is determined that the provisions of Ordinance No. 79-18 cannot be substituted for the invalid section or sections, then all provisions of Ordinance No. 79-18 shall be deemed to have been in full force and effect at all times from the adoption thereof, and all sections of said articles as adopted by Ordinance No. 18-17 shall be ineffective from the date of their adoption.

(§ 1, Ord. 79-18, eff. July 1, 1979; § 1, Ord. 18-17, eff. August 8, 2018)

Any home-based business wanting to move into a commercial unit will be eligible for a one-time two (2) year City of Clovis business registration fee rebate. In addition to the criteria of expansion to a commercial building, the business owner will be required to enroll in and complete a small business training course offered by the Central Valley Business Incubator (CVBI) or Small Business Development Corporation (SBDC). Proof of completing either course would need to be documented by completing an application signed by the instructor of the training course and the Community and Economic Development Director or his/her designee.

(§ 1, Ord. 09-13, eff. August 5, 2009; § 1, Ord. 18-17, eff. August 8, 2018)