Guadalupe Municipal Code Art. I General

The provisions of this chapter are enacted solely to raise revenue for general municipal purposes and are not intended for regulation.

(Ord. 2014-420 §2)

A. Business taxes are hereby imposed upon all businesses, professions, trades, vocations, enterprises, establishments, occupations, or callings conducting business in the City to which a business tax may lawfully apply, in the amount of $0.50 per $1,000.00 of gross receipts. It is unlawful for any person to transact and carry on any business, trade, vocation, enterprise, establishment, occupation, or calling in the City not otherwise exempt without first having procured a business tax certificate from the City or complying with all of the applicable provisions of this chapter.

B. The business tax certificate shall be evidence only of the fact that such business tax has been paid. Neither the payment of the business tax nor the possession of the business tax certificate shall authorize, permit, or allow the doing of any act which the person paying or holding such business tax certificate would not otherwise be entitled to do; nor shall it be construed as permission to conduct or carry on a business at any place within the City where the conducting or carrying on of such business is prohibited or fails to comply with the City's zoning, planning, or building regulations, nor shall it be construed as permission to conduct or carry on a business in such a manner as to create or maintain a nuisance.

(Ord. 2014-420 §2)

The following persons and organizations are exempt from the provisions of this chapter:

A. Minors Under the Age of 18. Businesses owned and conducted by minors under the age of 18 years shall be exempt from the business tax provisions of this chapter where all of the following conditions exist and legal documentation is provided to support that:

1. All persons engaged in the operation of the business are under the age of 18 years.

2. All persons engaged in the operation of the business have a bona fide ownership interest in the business.

B. Charitable, Religious, and Nonprofit Organizations.

1. Organization Activities. The provisions of this chapter shall not be deemed or construed to require the payment of a business tax to conduct, manage, or carry on any business, occupation, or activity of any institution or organization recognized by a Tax Board of the State with a "Statement of Domestic Non Profit Organization" or the Internal Revenue Service of the United States which is conducted wholly for the benefit of charitable, religious, or nonprofit purposes and from which profit is not derived, either directly or indirectly, by any person.

2. Nonexempt Activities. The exemption provisions of this section shall not be construed to extend to any person, business, corporation, or organization receiving a fee, wage, stipend, salary, remuneration, compensation, or pay for the performance of any business, occupation, or activity related to exempt organization activities. Any such person, business, corporation, or organization shall be subject to the business tax provisions of this chapter and shall obtain the business tax certificate prior to any business, occupation, or activity being undertaken.

C. Conflicts With Federal and State Laws or Contractual Agreements. The provisions of this chapter shall not be construed to require a person to obtain a business tax certificate prior to doing business within the City if such requirement conflicts with the applicable statutes, laws, or constitution of the United States or the State of California or other contractual obligations or franchise agreements. The Finance Director may develop administrative guidelines concerning exemptions, apportionment, and any other matters which he or she determines as necessary for the lawful and effective implementation of this chapter.

(Ord. 2014-420 §2)

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

"Business"

shall mean and include professions, trades, vocations, rentals, leases, enterprises, establishments, and occupations and all and every kind of calling, any of which is conducted for the purpose of earning in whole, or in part, a profit or livelihood, whether or not a profit or a livelihood actually is earned thereby, whether paid in money, goods, labor, or otherwise, and whether or not the business has a fixed place of business in the City.

"Finance Director"

shall mean the individual designated by the City Administrator to collect business taxes pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.

"Gross receipts"

shall mean and include the total amounts actually received or receivable from sales, services, rentals, or leases in the total amounts 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 a credit allowed, whether or not such act or service is done as a part of, or in connection with, the sale or rental of materials, property (real or personal), goods, wares, or merchandise. Included in "gross receipts" shall be receipts, cash, credits, and property of any kind or nature, without any deduction therefrom on account of the cost of the property sold, rented or leased, the cost of the materials used, labor and service costs, interest paid or payable, or losses or other expenses whatsoever.

Excluded from "gross receipts" shall be the following:

Cash discounts allowed and taken on sales;

Credit allowed on property accepted as a part of the purchase price in which property may later be sold;

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

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

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 the amounts were collected;

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

As to a real estate transaction, the sales price of the real estate sold for the account of others, except that portion which represents commission or other income;

Income from businesses that perform the function of agent or broker, except that portion of income which represents commission or other income to the agent or broker;

As to a retail gasoline dealer, a portion of the receipts of the dealer from the sales of motor vehicle fuels equal to the amount of motor vehicle fuel license tax imposed;

As to retail gasoline dealer, any special motor fuel taxes if paid by the dealer or collected by the dealer from the consumer or purchaser.

"Gross receipts subject to the business tax"

shall be that portion of gross receipts relating to business conducted within the City. For businesses with their headquarters located within the City of Guadalupe, their total gross receipts shall be deemed to be related to business conducted within the City unless an apportionment of gross receipts is requested by the business pursuant to Section 5.04.580 of this chapter.

"Person"

shall mean and include all domestic and foreign corporations, associations, syndicates, joint-stock corporations, partnerships of every kind, clubs, Massachusetts trust, business, and other common law trusts, societies, and individuals transacting and carrying on any business in the City, other than an employee.

"Sworn statement"

shall mean an affidavit sworn to before a person authorized to take oaths or a declaration or certification made under the penalty of perjury.

(Ord. 2014-420 §2)