The Municipality of Kingston hereby imposes
an annual mercantile license tax in the manner and at the rates hereinafter
set forth.
Beginning on the first day of January each year
and for the balance of the calendar year, every person desiring to
continue to engage in, or hereafter to begin to engage in, the business
of wholesale or retail vendor or dealer in goods, wares or merchandise
and any person conducting a restaurant or other place where food,
drink or refreshments are sold, whether or not the same is incidental
to some other business or occupation, shall, on or before the first
day of January each year, procure a mercantile license for his place
of business or, if more than one for each of his places of business,
in the Municipality of Kingston, from the Mercantile Tax Collector
as required by law. Such license shall be conspicuously posted at
the place of business or businesses of every person at all times.
Every person engaged in any of the following
occupations or businesses in the Municipality of Kingston shall pay
an annual mercantile license tax, for the calendar year, at the rates
herein set forth:
A. Wholesale vendors or dealers in goods, wares and merchandise:
at the rate of one mill on each dollar of the volume of the annual
gross business transacted by him, or at the rate of $1 per $1,000
of gross volume of business.
B. Retail vendors or dealers in goods, wares and merchandise
and all persons engaged in conducting restaurants or other places
where food, drink or refreshments are sold: at the rate of 11/2 mills
on each dollar of the volume of the annual gross business transacted
by him, or at the rate of $1.50 per $1,000 of gross volume of business.
C. Wholesale and retail vendors or dealers in goods,
wares and merchandise: at the rate of one mill on each dollar of the
volume of the annual gross wholesale business transacted by him and
11/2 mills on each dollar of the volume of the annual gross retail
business transacted by him.
D. Each person engaged in a business temporary, seasonal
or itinerant by its nature: at the rate of 11/2 mills on each dollar
of the gross volume of business, as that term is herein defined, transacted
within the territorial limits of the municipality during each license
year.
At the time of filing the return, the person
making the same shall pay the amount of tax shown as due thereon to
the Mercantile Tax Collector.
Any information gained by the Mercantile Tax
Collector, or any other officer, official, agent or employee of the
municipality, as a result of any returns, investigations, hearings
or verifications required or authorized by this Article, shall be
confidential except in accordance with proper judicial order or as
otherwise provided by law; and divulgence of any information so gained
is hereby declared to be a violation of this Article, which may be
punished by dismissal from office or employment.
Whoever makes any false or untrue statements
on his return or who refuses to permit reasonable inspection of the
books, records or accounts of any business in his custody or control,
when the right to make such reasonable inspection by the Mercantile
Tax Collector is requested, and whoever fails or refuses to file a
return required by this Article and whoever fails or refuses to procure
a mercantile license when so required under this Article or fails
to keep his license conspicuously posted at his place of business
as herein required shall, upon conviction, be sentenced to pay a fine
of not more than $300 or be imprisoned in the Luzerne County Jail
for a period not exceeding 30 days, or both. Each day on which said
person violates this Article may be considered as a separate offense
and punishable as such as aforeprovided.