Ord 1929 - Amending Business License FeesORDINANCE 1929
ORDINANCE OF THE TOWN OF LOS GATOS
AMENDING BUSINESS LICENSE FEES
THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF LOS GATOS DOES ORDAIN AS
FOLLOWS:
SECTION I
Section 14.10.010 of the Code of the Town of Los Gatos is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 14.10.010. Definitions.
For the purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the
meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section:
0
Business means professions, trades and occupations and every kind of calling carried
on for profit or livelihood, including the business of renting or leasing apartments.
Fixed place of business means the premises occupied for the particular purpose of
conducting the business thereat, and regularly kept open for that purpose, with a competent
person in attendance for the purpose of attending to such business. Included in such term
is the premises rented or leased by persons owning apartments located in the Town.
Gross receipts means the total amount of the sale price of all sales and the total
amount charged or received for the performance of any act, service or employment of
whatever nature it may be, for which a charge is made or credit allowed, whether or not
such service, act or employment is done as a part of or in connection with the sale of
materials, goods, wares or merchandise. Included in such term shall be all receipts, cash,
credits and property of any kind or nature, and any amount for which credit is allowed by
the seller to the purchaser without any deduction therefrom on account of the cost of the
property sold, the cost of the materials used, labor, or service costs, interest paid or payable
or losses or other expenses whatsoever.
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Excluded from such term shall be cash discounts allowed and taken on sales, any tax
required by law to be included in, or added to, the purchase price and collected from the
consumer or purchaser, and such part of the sale price of property returned by purchasers
upon rescission of the contract of sale as is refunded either in cash or by credit.
Home occupation means such term as defined in the zoning ordinance.
Jobbing business means any business conducted solely for the purpose of selling
goods, wares or merchandise in job lots to wholesale merchants for resale at wholesale to
the trade by such wholesale merchants.
Quarter means a period of three (3) calendar months. The quarters begin on the first
day of January, April, July and October of each year. The quarter shall include fractions
thereof.
Retail business means any business conducted for the purpose of selling, or offering
to sell, any goods, wares or merchandise, other than as a part of a wholesale business and
jobbing business.
Real estate broker means the managing broker and /or partner of any real estate
office.
Tax and License Collector is the Finance Manager.
Vehicle means any device in, upon or by which any person or property is or may be
transported or drawn upon a public street or highway, except devices moved by human
power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks.
Wholesale business means any business conducted solely for the purpose of selling
goods, wares or merchandise in wholesale lots to retail merchants for resale at retail to the
trade by such retail merchants.
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SECTION II
Section 14.10.020 is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 14.10.020. Required— Generally.
It shall be unlawful for any person to transact and carry on any business, trade,
profession, calling or occupation in the Town without first having procured a license from
the Town.
SECTION III
Section 14.10.030 is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 14.10.030. Certain businesses exempt from certain requirements of chapter.
(a) Nothing in this chapter shall be deemed or construed to apply to any of the
following:
1. Any person transacting and carrying on any business exempt by virtue
of the Constitution or applicable statutes of the United States or of the
State.
2. Any institution or organization which is conducted, managed, or carried
on wholly for the benefit of charitable purposes or from which profit
is not derived either directly or indirectly by any person.
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3. The conducting of any entertainment, concert, exhibition, or lecture on
scientific, historical, literary, religious or moral subjects within the
Town whenever the receipts of any such entertainment, concert,
exhibition, or lecture ought to be appropriated to any church or school
or veteran association, or to any religious or benevolent purpose.
4. The conducting of any entertainment, dance, concert, exhibition, or
lecture by any religious, charitable, fraternal, educational, military,
State, county, or municipal organization or association whenever the
receipts of any such entertainment, dance, concert, exhibition, or
lecture are to be appropriated for the purpose and objects for which
such organization or association was formed, and from which profit is
not derived either directly or indirectly by any person
5. Charitable non - profit corporations recognized by the Franchise Tax
Board and granted California tax exemptions as such, attributable to
business activities conducted in the course of and in conjunction with
community -wide events when the event has specific approval of the
Town Council, or is permitted under the Special Event Permit process,
and when the proceeds of the business activity are entirely devoted to
the purposes of the organization.
(b) Every person commencing, transacting, and carrying on in the Town any
business in a home whose annual gross receipts from such business are two thousand five
hundred dollars ($2,500) or less shall be exempted from the payment of a business license
tax under this chapter, but shall be required to obtain and display a license and shall pay
a license fee of twenty dollars ($20). Where the annual gross receipts from such business
exceeds two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) the license taxes imposed in this chapter
shall apply.
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(c) No public utility making franchise payments to the Town shall be subject to
the provisions of this chapter.
(d) Any person claiming an exemption pursuant to this section shall file a verified
statement with the Tax and License Collector stating the facts upon which such exemption
is claimed, and shall furnish such other information and documentary evidence as the Tax
and License Collector may require in connection with such claim for exemption.
(e) The Tax and License Collector, upon a proper showing contained in the verified
statement, and upon receipt of other information and documentary evidence required in
connection with such claim for exemption, shall issue a license to such person claiming
exemption under this section without payment to the Town of the license tax required by
this chapter.
(f) The Town Council may revolve any license granted pursuant to the provisions
of this section upon information that the licensee is not entitled to the exemption as
provided in this section.
(g) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to exempt any organization or
association from complying with any other provisions of this code or any other ordinance
of the Town requiring a permit from the Town Council or any Commission or officer of the
Town to conduct, manage, or carry on any profession, trade, calling, or occupation.
SECTION IV
Section 14.10.040 is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 14.10.040. Statements required —Upon application for original license.
(a) Upon a person making application for the first license under this chapter, or for
a newly established business, in all cases where the amount of license tax to be paid is
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s
based upon gross receipts or is graduated according to some other sliding scale, such person
shall furnish to the Tax and License Collector, for guidance in ascertaining the amount of
license tax to be paid by the applicant, a written statement upon a form provided by the
Tax and License Collector, signed and certified under penalty of perjury to be true and
correct.
(b) If the amount of the license tax to be paid by the applicant is based upon the
amount of gross receipts, the applicant shall estimate the amount of gross receipts for the
period to be covered by the license for the purpose of determining the licensing bracket
which will be applicable for the period to be covered by the license to be issued. Such
estimate, if accepted by the Tax and License Collector as reasonable, shall be used in
determining the amount of license tax to be paid by the applicant. The tax so determined
shall be tentative only and such person shall, by not later than January thirty -first next
following the period for which the license was issued, furnish the Tax and License Collector
with a certified or sworn statement upon a form furnished by the Collector, containing the
data required to show the licensing bracket properly applicable to such person during the
period of such license, and the license tax for such period shall be finally ascertained and
paid in the manner provided in this chapter, after deducting from the payment found to be
due the amount paid at the time such first license was issued. The Tax and License
Collector shall not issue to any such person another license for the same or any other
business until such person shall have furnished the written statement and paid the license
tax as required in this chapter.
(c) If the amount of the license tax to be paid by the applicant is graduated
according to some sliding scale other than gross receipts, the applicant shall furnish to the
Tax and License Collector for guidance in ascertaining the amount of license tax to be paid,
a certified or sworn statement upon a form provided by the Tax and License Collector
setting forth such information as may be therein required and as may be necessary properly
to determine the amount of license tax to be paid by the applicant and which statement
shall show, among other things, the ,number of vehicles or tonnage thereof or the number
of seats, chairs, rooms, tables or other units used or involved in such person's'business as
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of the time of filing such application. Such person shall thereupon pay the required license
tax in advance, computed in accordance with the information contained in such statement.
(d) All applicants with one or more employees must provide certification of worker's
compensation insurance.
SECTION V
Section 14.10.045 is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 14.10.045. Same —Upon renewal of license.
(a) The applicant for renewal of the license under this chapter shall submit to the
Tax and License Collector, for guidance in ascertaining the amount of the license tax to be
paid by the applicant, a written statement upon a form to be provided by the Tax and
License Collector, certified under the penalty of perjury to be true and correct, setting forth
such information concerning the applicant's business during the preceding license period as
may be required by the Tax and License Collector to enable the amount of the license tax
to be paid by such applicant to be ascertained pursuant to the provisions of this chapter,
and such statement shall be used as the basis for determining the amount of license tax to
be paid by the applicant for the renewal period.
(b) Where the license tax to be paid under this chapter is based upon gross receipts,
only one (1) such statement need be filed during any calendar year (unless the Tax and
License Collector requires a corrected statement to be filed), which statement shall be filed
as provided in section 14.10:040 and on or before the thirty -first day of January of each
year. The annual statement shall include both estimates for current year gross receipts and
the actual amount of prior year gross receipts.
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(c) Applicants for renewal of the license under this chapter, with one or more
employees, must provide certification that their worker's compensation insurance is in force
and in effect.
SECTION VI
Section 14.10.060 is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 14.10.060. Same— Extension of time for filing; compromise of claims.
(a) The Tax and License Collector shall have the power, for good cause shown, to
extend the time for filing any required sworn statement or for payment of any required fee
for a period not exceeding thirty (30) days, and, in such case, to waive any penalty that
would otherwise have accrued, and shall have the further power, with the consent of the
Town Council, to compromise any claim as to the amount of license tax due under this
chapter.
(b) Any applicant requesting an extension of the time for filing any required sworn
statement or for payment of any required fee and the waiver of any penalty must submit
a written request to the Tax and License Collector. The Tax and License Collector shall
give written response within 30 days of receipt of request. Decisions of the Tax and License
Collector regarding time extension or penalty waiver are final.
(c) Any applicant requesting to compromise any claim as to the amount of license
tax due under this chapter must submit a written request to the Tax and License Collector.
The Tax and License Collector must forward the request, along with a recommendation,
to the Town Council within 30 days of receipt. Decisions of the Town Council are final.
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SECTION VII
Section 14.10.080 is amended to read as follows:
Section 14.10.080. Same -To be prorated.
In all cases, the applicant shall, upon filing the application, pay the prescribed
minimum license fee in advance to cover the remaining portion of the current license
period. However, in this connection, all fees with the exception of those paid pursuant to
the gross receipts schedules shall be prorated as follows:
January 1- December 31
100%
April 1 - December 31
75%
July 1- December 31
50%
October 1- December 31
25%
SECTION VIII
Section 14.10.090 is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 1.4.10.090. Issuance; contents.
Upon the payment of the required license tax under this chapter, the Tax and
License Collector shall issue to a person malting application under this chapter a license
which shall contain the name of the business licensed, the place where such business is to
be transacted and carried on, the date of the expiration of such license and such other
information as may be necessary for the enforcement of the provisions of this chapter.
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SECTION IX
Section 14.10.105 is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 14.10.105. Transferability.
Where a license is issued authorizing a person to transact and carry on a business,
at a particular place, such licensee may, upon application therefor, and paying a fee of ten
dollars ($10.00), have the license amended to authorize the transacting of such business
under such license at some other location to which the business is or is to be moved.
A business license cannot be transferred with the sale of a business. The new owner
must secure a new license within 30 days of the date of purchase.
SECTION X
Section 14.20.115 is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 14.20.115. License taxes for specified businesses.
Every person doing any of the kinds of business specified in this section shall pay the
business license tax specified. The fees are annual unless otherwise specified.
Advertising signs
Signposting and painting .........................
Amusements
Shows, concerts, and the like (per day) ...............
Circuses, menageries and the like:
Less than 2,000 seating capacity
First day .............................
Each succeeding day .....................
$420.00
42.00
420.00
52.50
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More than 2,000 seating capacity
First day .............................
630.00
Each succeeding day .....................
105.00
Sideshows (per day):
Entrance fee not exceeding $0.10 .............
21.00
Entrance fee exceeding $0.10 ................
42.00
Circus procession or parade (each) ................
210.00
Carnivals (per day) ..........................
42.00
Ferris wheels, merry -go- rounds, and the like
(per month) ...............................
210.00
° Public dances (per dance) .......................
21.00
Apartment rental and mobile home parks (per unit) .........
7.50
The term "apartment" includes all buildings or groups of buildings on
the same premises, composed of a total of three (3) or more dwelling
units
Auctioneers ... ...............................
112.50
Billiard and pool rooms (per table) ...................
52.50
Boardinghouses
Boardinghouses licensed by the state or county as boardinghouses for
pensioners, and who board pensioners exclusively, are exempt from
the business license tax.
For first 4 boarders ......................
21.00
For each person over 4 ....................
4.50
Cleaning and dyeing laundry delivery
Vehicles (annual, per vehicle) ....................
168.00
The tax applies to those who have no fixed place of
business in the Town.
Contractors (annual) ............................
224.00.
A separate fee for each type of work activity, such as general
engineering, building, plumbing, plastering, painting, masonry, termite
service, maintenance and repair, installation or other specialty, in
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addition to any sales or jobbing license fee. Contractors with
businesses not located in Los Gatos but doing a short -term work
activity may pay the daily fee.
A contractor must show proof of a valid California Contractor's
License or a signed Declaration of Exemption from California
Contractor's License law.
Contractors (daily) 105.00
Day care facilities
Day care facilities provide day care for children under eighteen (18)
years of age who are unrelated to the licensee.
Small family day care home (a facility providing day care for six (6)
children or less, including resident children) ........... No fee
Large family day care home (a facility providing day care for seven (7)
to twelve (12) children, including resident children) ...... No fee
Nursery school (a facility providing day care for thirteen (13) or more
children) .. ............................... No fee
Hospitals, rest homes, and the like:
Annual, or ................................ 140.00
Per bed, if that is larger ....................... 10.00
Hotels and motels (annual, per guest room) .............. 7.50
Business activities other than renting rooms, conducted in connection
with a hotel, are taxed separately.
House movers
Annual license ............................. 105.00
Additional, per structure moved .................. 84.00
Itinerant photographers (annual) ..................... 210.00
Itinerant vendors (daily) .......................... 105.00
The words "itinerant vendor" mean any person, both principal and
agent, who engages in a temporary and transient business in the Town
selling goods, wares and merchandise with the intention of continuing
such business in the Town for a period of not more than ninety (90)
days, and who, for the purpose of carrying on such business, hires,
leases or occupies any room, building or structure for the exhibition
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or sale of such goods, wares, or merchandise, or from which room,
building or structure the sales shall be made or business solicited by
means of samples or delivery from house to house. The person so
engaged is not relieved from the provisions of this section by reason
of associating temporarily with any local dealer, trader, merchant or
auctioneer, or by conducting temporary or transient business in
connection with, or as a part of, or in the name of any local dealer,
trader, merchant or auctioneer. The provisions of this section do not
apply to commercial travelers or selling agents selling their goods to
dealers, whether selling for present or future deliveries, by sample or
otherwise, nor to hawkers on the street, nor peddlers from vehicles,
nor to persons selling fruit, vegetables, butter, eggs, or other fruit or
ranch products.
Junk collectors (annual, per vehicle) .................. 84.00
Junk collector means any person who has no fixed place of business
in the Town and who engages in or carries on the business of
collecting, buying or selling any old rags, sacks, bottles, cans, papers,
metals or other articles of junk.
Junk dealers (annual) ............................. 420.00
Junk dealer means any person who has a fixed place of business in
the Town, and who engages in or carries on the business of buying or
selling, either at wholesale or retail, any old rags, sacks, bottles, cans,
papers, metals or other articles of junk.
Peddlers
Peddlers of wares other than food, per person, per day .... 21.00
Peddlers of food, except lunch wagon operators:
Using a vehicle (per vehicle, annual) ........... 210.00
Not using a vehicle, carrying wares by hand ....... 42.00
Lunch wagon operators (per vehicle,. annual) ..... 210.00
Peddlers engaged in the business of selling any personal property at
a sale conducted by an organization exempt from the business license
tax under the provisions of section 14.10.030 of this chapter shall pay
a license tax of $ 7.50 per day. This rule applies only when all fees,
commissions or other remuneration of any kind paid by the peddler
to the organization conducting, sponsoring or promoting the sale is
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devoted exclusively to the business license tax - exempt purposes of the
organization and the organization has obtained prior approval from
the Town Council to conduct the sale, per day 7.50
A "peddler" is every person not 'having a regularly established place
of business in the Town who travels from place to place, or has a
stand upon any public street, alley or other public place, doorway or
any building, unenclosed or vacant lot, or parcel of land, who sells,
offers for sale, any goods, wares or merchandise in his possession.
Professional and semiprofessional occupations
Per professional or semiprofessional person ........... 200.00
Additional per employee ....................... 15.00
Professional or semiprofessional business or service occupations include, but are not
limited to, the following:
Accountant
Advertising counsel
Appraiser
Architect
Artist
Assayer
Attorney -at -law
Auditor
Bacteriologist
Broker, stock or bond
Chemist
Chiropodist
Chiropractor
Dentist
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Designer or decorator
Detective or investigative personnel
Draftsperson
Drugless practitioner
Electrologist
Engineer: civil, mining, electrical, construction
Engineer: structural, consulting, mechanical, hydraulic
Engraver
Feed, grain and fruit broker
Geologist
Illustrator or showcard writer
Landscape architect
Lapidary
Lithographer
Masseuse or masseur
Oculist, optician or optometrist
Osteopath
Physician
Real estate brokers
Surgeon
Surveyor
Taxidermist
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Veterinarian
X -ray, dental or medical laboratory
Service occupations ............................. 100.00
Service occupations include, but are not limited to the following:
appliance, home furnishing or radio and television installation,
janitorial and building maintenance, landscape installation and
maintenance, secretarial service, security guards, etc.
Shooting galleries .............................. 105.00
Solicitors (per business) .......................... 210.00
A solicitor is one who engages in the business of going from house to
house, place to place or in or along the streets within the Town selling
or taking orders for, or offering to sell or take orders for, goods,
wares, merchandise, advertising or other things of value for future
delivery, or for services to be performed in the future.
Taxicabs
Per business ............................... 150.00
Additional per taxi ........................... 22.50
Theaters and concert halls ......................... 105.00
Trucking (annual, per vehicle) ...................... 140.00
Persons other than peddlers who sell or deliver food or any other
goods by means of a vehicle, and who have no fixed place of business
in the Town. Persons who make no more than two deliveries or sales
per quarter are exempt from the foregoing tax. All other motor
vehicle delivery business, whether the business operates on a regular
route or between fixed termini or not:
For one vehicle ........................ 45.00
For each additional vehicle ................. 22.00
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SECTION XI
This ordinance takes effect 30 days after it is adopted. Within 15 days after this
ordinance is adopted the Town Cleric shall cause it to be published once in a newspaper
of general circulation published and circulated in the Town.
This ordinance was introduced at a regular meeting of the Town Council of the
Town of Los Gatos on January 4, 1993 and adopted by the following vote as an ordinance
of the Town of Los Gatos at a regular meeting of the Town Council of the Town of Los
Gatos on January 19, 1993.
COUNCIL MEMBERS:
AYES: Randy Attaway, Steven Blanton, Linda Lubeck, Patrick O'Laughlin,
Mayor Joanne Benjamin.
NAYS: None
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: None
a
SIGNED: �OFTHE YOR TOWN F LOS GATOS
LOS GATOS, CALIFORNIA
ATTEST:
CLERK OF THE TOWN OF L S GATOS
LOS GATOS, CALIFORNIA
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