[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Altoona 12-16-1952 by Ord. No. 3452 (Ch. 804 of the 1974 Codified Ordinances); amended in its entirety 1-23-2013 by Ord. No. 5636. Subsquent amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Mercantile license tax — See Ch. 646, Art. I.
Business privilege tax — See Ch. 646, Art. V.
The following words and phrases when used in this chapter shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section unless the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
CITY LICENSE OFFICER
The person authorized and empowered by the City Council to collect the license taxes imposed hereby and to enforce the provisions of this chapter.
GROSS VOLUME OF BUSINESS
Includes both cash and credit transactions.
PERSON
Any individual, partnership, limited partnership, association or corporation, but shall not include a wage earner, a nonprofit corporation organized for religious, charitable or educational purposes, and association for such purposes, any agency of the government of the United States or of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or any public utility.
SERVICE
Any act or instance of helping or benefiting another for a consideration.
TAX YEAR
The twelve-month period beginning the first Monday of January corresponding to the fiscal year of the City of Altoona.
TEMPORARY, SEASONAL OR ITINERANT BUSINESS
Any business that is conducted at one location for less than 60 consecutive calendar days.
For the year 1975 and annually thereafter, the City License Officer shall issue business privilege licenses in the manner and for the fees hereinafter set forth.
Beginning in the year 1996 and annually thereafter, every person desiring to continue to engage in or hereafter to begin to engage in certain occupations, trades and businesses within the City shall, on or before the first day of January of each license year, or prior to commencing business in any such license year, procure a business privilege license for his or her place of business, or if more than one, for each of his or her places of business in the City, from the City Tax Office, which shall issue the same upon the payment of a fee, as established by City Council from time to time, for each license year. Such license shall be conspicuously posted at the place of business or each of the places of business of every person at all times.
Any person being required under the provisions of this chapter to procure a business privilege license and who fails or refuses to do so, and/or whoever fails to keep the required license conspicuously posted at said place of business, shall, upon conviction before the District Justice, be sentenced to pay a fine of not less than $200 and not more than $1,000 and in default of payment of said fine to be imprisoned in the county prison for a period not exceeding 90 days.