For the purpose of this chapter, certain words and phrases shall
be construed as set forth in this chapter unless it is apparent from
the context that a different meaning is intended.
(2194 § 2, 1991; 2808 § 1, 2012)
"Amusement center"
means any place of business containing four, but not more
than nine, amusement devices, including but not limited to pinball,
air hockey, video games, pool tables, and billiard tables, for use
by the public at a fee, when incidental to the primary use on the
premises.
(2194 § 2, 1991; 2808 § 1, 2012)
"Amusement devices"
means and includes pool tables, pinball machines, video games,
kiddie rides, juke boxes, air hockey machines, viewing machines and
any other such device or machine, whether or not owned by the applicant.
(2194 § 2, 1991; 2808 § 1, 2012)
"Arcade"
means any place of business containing 10 or more amusement
devices, including but not limited to pinball, air hockey, and video
games for use by the public at a fee.
(2194 § 2, 1991; 2808 § 1, 2012)
"Builder/owner"
means an owner of property, who builds or improves structures
thereon, or appurtenances thereto, who does such work him or herself
or through his or her own employees with wages as their sole compensation;
provided that such structure, or structures, with or without the appurtenances
thereto, is not intended or offered for sale. Proof of the sale or
offering for sale of any such structure by the builder/owner within
one year after completion of same is presumptive evidence that such
structure was undertaken for purposes of sale.
(2194 § 2, 1991; 2808 § 1, 2012)
"Business"
means and includes all professions, trades, occupations and
all and every kind of calling, full time or part time, whether or
not carried on for profit.
(2194 § 2, 1991; 2808 § 1, 2012)
(2194 § 2, 1991; 2808 § 1, 2012)
"Business operation tax"
means the tax required by any and/or all provisions of this
title and shall herein be referred to as "business tax" or "tax,"
except as otherwise specified.
(2194 § 2, 1991; 2808 § 1, 2012)
"Business operation tax certificate"
means the receipt for taxes paid as required by any and/or
all provisions of this title and shall herein be referred to as "tax
certificate" or "certificate," except as otherwise specified.
(2194 § 2, 1991; 2808 § 1, 2012)
"City"
means the City of Garden Grove.
(2194 § 2, 1991; 2808 § 1, 2012)
As used in this chapter, "contractor" means any person who is
licensed as a contractor by the State of California, and who undertakes
to or offers to undertake to or purports to have the capacity to undertake
to or submits a bid to, or does him or herself or by others construct,
alter, repair, add to, subtract from, improve, move, wreck, or demolish
any building, highway, road, railroad, excavation, or other structure,
project, development, or improvement, or to do any part thereof, including
the erection of scaffolding or other structures or works in connection
therewith.
(2194 § 2, 1991; 2808 § 1, 2012)
"General contractor"
means a contractor in the business of construction utilizing
the services of two or more unrelated building trades or crafts and
licensed as a contractor by the State of California.
(2194 § 2, 1991; 2808 § 1, 2012)
"Specialty contractor"
means a contractor whose contracting business involves the
use of specialized building trades or crafts and is licensed as a
contractor by the State of California.
(2194 § 2, 1991; 2808 § 1, 2012)
"Employees"
means all individuals engaged in the operation or conduct
of any business, including members of the owner's family, partner,
agent, manager, officer, solicitor, and any and all other individuals
employed or working in the business.
(2194 § 2, 1991; 2808 § 1, 2012)
A. "Engaged
in business" means the conducting, carrying on, managing, or operating
a business whether done as owner, or by means of an officer, agent,
manager, employee, servant, or lessee or any of them.
B. "Engaged
in business" further includes the purchase, sale, or any other transaction
involving the handling, disposition or providing of any article, service,
substance, or commodity for livelihood or profit; the management of
office buildings, offices, recreational or amusement enterprises;
the maintenance or use of offices, structures, and premises by professions,
trades, or occupations rendering services.
(2194 § 2, 1991; 2808 § 1, 2012)
"Evidence of doing business"
means and includes whenever any person, by use of signs,
circulars, cards, or any other advertising media, holds him or herself
out as, or represents that he or she is, doing business in the City.
(2194 § 2, 1991; 2808 § 1, 2012)
"Fixed place of business"
means the premises occupied for the particular purpose of
conducting the business at that site, and regularly kept open for
that purpose with a competent person in attendance for the purpose
of attending to such business, except provided that a warehouse shall
be considered a "fixed place of business" whether or not the premises
is regularly kept open, and whether or not anyone is in attendance.
(2194 § 2, 1991; 2808 § 1, 2012)
A. "Gross
receipts" means and includes the total amount of the sale price of
all sales, and the total amount charged or received 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.
B. The
following shall be included in "gross receipts": 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.
C. The
following shall be excluded from "gross receipts":
1. Cash
discounts allowed and taken on sales;
2. Credit
allowed on property accepted as part of the purchase price and which
property may later be sold;
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 sale price of property returned by purchasers upon rescission
of the contract of sale as is refunded either in cash or by credit;
5. 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 Tax Administrator
with the names and addresses of the others and the amounts paid to
them, other than amounts received as commissions or fees earned, or
charges of any character made or compensation of any character received
for the performance of any service as agent, or trustee; provided
that any agent or trustee dealing in stocks or other similar written
instruments evidencing a right to participate in the assets of any
business, or dealing in bonds or other evidences of indebtedness,
who also deals in such property as a principal, shall include in the
gross receipts by which the tax is measured the amount of his or her
trading profits resulting therefrom. No deduction from receipts attributable
to trading as principle shall be made unless such deduction is provided
for in this section;
6. The
difference between the balance owed and paid on a defaulted purchase
or finance contract upon repossession by seller and the amount received
from resale of the repossessed article by the repossessing seller;
7. Receipts
of refundable deposits, except that refundable deposits forfeited
and taken into income of the business shall not be excluded;
8. As
to alcoholic beverages, that portion of the receipts of a manufacturer,
transporter, retailer, or wholesale distributor generated or otherwise
collected from the manufacture, sale, possession, or transportation
of intoxicating liquors within the state pursuant to Article XX, Section
22 of the State Constitution;
9. As
to a retail gasoline dealer, a portion of his or her receipts from
the sale of motor vehicle fuels equal to the Motor Vehicle Fuel License
Tax imposed by and previously paid under the provisions of Part 2
of Division 2 of the
Revenue and Taxation Code of the State of California;
10. As to a retail gasoline dealer, the special motor fuel tax imposed
by Section 4041 of Title 26 of the United States Code if paid by the
dealer or collected by him or her from the purchaser;
11. Cash value of sales, trades, transfers, or other transactions as
made between separate departments, divisions, or units of any single
business entity;
12. Sales for convenience where sales of new goods, wares, or merchandise
are made by a person engaged in selling such articles to another person
engaged in selling like or similar articles:
a. Where the primary purpose of the particular transaction of sale is
to accommodate the purchaser rather than to make a sale in the ordinary
course of business and the price paid is essentially the book value
of the article;
b. Where, in the particular kind of business involved, a similar manner
of dealing is frequent or customary in the circumstances under which
the particular sale is made; and
c. Where goods, wares, or merchandise of like or similar kind and of
substantially equivalent value to that which was sold is received
in consideration.
13. The amount of gross receipts that has been subject to a license tax
paid to any other city.
14. Any license tax or fee imposed by and previously paid under any and/or
all provisions of this chapter.
D. As to general contractors and builder/owners who are state licensed contractors and other similar businesses, "gross receipts" shall not include that portion of the receipts of a general contractor or builder/owner that represents payments to subcontractors, provided that such subcontractors are licensed under Chapters
5.01—
5.08 of this title, and provided the general contractor or builder/owner furnishes the Tax Administrator with the names and addresses of the subcontractors and the amounts paid to them.
E. As to
real estate brokerages, travel agencies, insurance brokerages, bail
bond brokerages, and other similar businesses, "gross receipts" shall
include the total gross commissions or other receipts attributable
to the local office, agents, brokers, and/or employees.
F. As to
accountants, architects, attorneys, chiropractors, clinical social
workers, doctors, dentists, marriage, family and child counselors,
optometrists, physicians' assistants, podiatrists, psychologists,
registered nurses, veterinarians and other similar licensed persons
performing professional services, "gross receipts" shall include the
total gross fees or other receipts attributable to the local office
and/or employees, for services performed or otherwise rendered within
the City.
G. As to
other persons having a fixed place of business within the City and
providing a service or plying a trade, or involved in similar businesses,
"gross receipts" shall include the total fees, commissions, or other
receipts attributable to that local location and/or employees.
H. As to
a business established outside the City but maintaining an office
within the City through an agent, broker, or employee, "gross receipts"
shall include the total sales or receipts attributable to the local
office or facility, agent, broker, or employee within the taxing jurisdiction.
I. In the
event separate sales or receipt records are not maintained for said
local office or facility, agent, broker, or employee, the business
tax shall be based upon an amount that bears the same proportion to
the total gross receipts of the business that cost of maintaining
said local office, facility, local agent, broker, or employee bears
to the total cost of maintaining said business.
J. In the
event that the business of said local office, facility, agent, broker,
or employee is that of performing administrative or storage functions
in connection with sales or services performed or rendered elsewhere,
the business tax shall be based on an amount equivalent to the cost
of doing business.
K. As to
a business established outside the City but transacting and carrying
on business within the City, or otherwise performing or rendering
services negotiated, or contracted for within the City, whether or
not by a principal or through an agent or employee, "gross receipts"
shall include the total fees, commissions, or other receipts attributable
to the business activity conducted within the taxing jurisdiction.
(2194 § 2, 1991; 2808 § 1, 2012)
"Home occupation"
means an occupation conducted on the premises by the occupant
of the dwelling as a secondary use in which there is no on-site advertising,
no display, no stock-in-trade, commodity or equipment sold or stored
upon the premises, no customers on site at any time, no persons employed
or otherwise associated with the activity working on the premises
at any time, and in connection with which no mechanical equipment
is used for manufacturing, processing, or assembling, except such
mechanical equipment as is necessary for domestic purposes only.
(2194 § 2, 1991; 2808 § 1, 2012)
"Hotel"
means a building in which there are six or more guest rooms,
where lodging with or without meals is provided for compensation,
and where no provision is made for cooking in any individual room
or suite. Occupancy for more than 30 consecutive days is allowed in
hotels. A hotel shall not include jails, hospitals, asylums, sanitariums,
orphanages, prisons, detention homes, and similar buildings where
human beings are housed and detained under legal restraint or for
care or treatment.
(2194 § 2, 1991; 2808 § 1, 2012)
"Independent contractor"
means one who contracts to perform a particular activity
or service for another in return for any valuable consideration and
is responsible for the result of his or her work. An independent contractor
is generally responsible for his or her individual tax obligations.
(2194 § 2, 1991; 2808 § 1, 2012)
"Insurance agent"
means a person authorized, by and on behalf of an insurer,
to transact insurance. Normally, an insurance agent has the authority
to bind the insurer and to execute insurance policies.
(2194 § 2, 1991; 2808 § 1, 2012)
"Insurance broker"
means a person who for compensation and on behalf of another
person transacts insurance, other than life, with but not on behalf
of an insurer. Normally an insurance broker does not have authority
to bind, and the insurer must first execute the binder or policy.
(2194 § 2, 1991; 2808 § 1, 2012)
"Mobile home park"
means any area or tract of land under single or unified ownership,
control or management, where five or more mobile manufactured home
sites are provided to accommodate manufactured homes used for human
habitation.
(2194 § 2, 1991; 2808 § 1, 2012)
"Motel"
means a group of attached or detached buildings in which
there are individual sleeping units that provide transient occupancy
to overnight guests. Not more than 10% of the individual living units
may contain kitchen facilities. A maximum of 10% of the customers
may remain in any one establishment for 30 consecutive days. No consecutive
occupancy shall exceed 30 days, nor shall any nonconsecutive occupancy
exceed 30 days in 45 consecutive days. Adequate parking is to be located
adjacent to units.
(2194 § 2, 1991; 2808 § 1, 2012)
(2194 § 2, 1991; 2808 § 1, 2012)
"Person"
means and includes all domestic and foreign corporations,
associations, syndicates, joint stock corporations, partnerships of
every kind, clubs, Massachusetts, business, or common law trusts,
societies, and individuals transacting and carrying on any business
in the City, including any manager, lessee, agent, servant, officer,
or any employee of same.
(2194 § 2, 1991; 2808 § 1, 2012)
"Principal"
means an individual who has an interest as a stockholder,
partner, owner, or partial owner thereof, and who is licensed or otherwise
duly qualified to practice the profession in which the business is
engaged.
(2194 § 2, 1991; 2808 § 1, 2012)
"Processing"
means and includes engaging in the business of converting
an article, substance, or commodity into marketable form for the purpose
of resale by changing its physical or chemical composition.
(2194 § 2, 1991; 2808 § 1, 2012)
A. "Professions"
means a business where the principal business activity is the furnishing
of services and all activities in which any person, for any other
person, performs any personal service and all services in which any
real or personal property or any money or credits are exchanged, leased,
transported, loaned, moved, stored, hauled, improved, maintained,
cleaned, repaired, or otherwise handled from one person to or for
another person, and any other business where the principal business
activity is the furnishing of services, and which business is not
specifically listed in some other classification or section of this
Code, will be classified in the above category.
B. Professions
include, but are not limited to, the following:
3. Agricultural
Advisor or Counselor
10. Business Management Consultant
11. Certified Public Accountant
14. Child Nurseries (seven children or more)
21. Dealer in stocks, bonds, securities, and other commodities
30. Employment Agency or Bureau
31. Fine Arts or Music School
34. Industrial Relations Consultant
40. Labor relations Consultant
54. Private home for the aged (seven persons or more)
56. Rental of personal property
63. Telephone Answering Service
(2194 § 2, 1991; 2808 § 1, 2012)
"Real estate agent"
means any person licensed as such by the state and engaged
wholly or in part in transacting and carrying on the sale of real
estate.
(2194 § 2, 1991; 2808 § 1, 2012)
"Real estate broker"
means any person licensed as such by the state and engaged,
wholly or in part, in transacting and carrying on the sale of real
estate, including soliciting or offering to buy, sell, or lease real
property for others; negotiating and collecting loans for borrowers
or lenders; dealing in real property sales contracts and promissory
notes; receiving advance fees for real estate listings; and dealing
in real estate syndicate securities.
(2194 § 2, 1991; 2808 § 1, 2012)
A "recordation fee" as established by City Council resolution,
is charged to all new businesses in the City for the purpose of including
the name, address, description, and other pertinent data of a business
in City records and entitlement of related services.
(2194 § 2, 1991; 2808 § 1, 2012)
"Renewal fee"
means a processing fee, as established by City Council resolution,
charged to process all renewal business tax applications.
(2194 § 2, 1991; 2808 § 1, 2012)
Owning rental property is considered a form of doing business.
A separate business tax certificate is required for each residential,
commercial, and/or industrial parcel located on separate lots, or
with separate assessor parcel numbers, or with separate addresses.
(2194 § 2, 1991; 2808 § 1, 2012)
"Services"
means the business of providing, maintaining, or performing labor for the benefit of another; of supplying some general demand for the benefit of another that does not produce a tangible commodity; of performing any other personal service; or any service in which any real or personal property, stocks or bonds, or other financial instruments, or evidences of debt, or contracts of insurance or any money or credits are exchanged, leased, transferred, or loaned; as well as every business of maintaining, storing, cleaning, improving or repairing tangible commodities whether or not such business is conducted from premises, vehicle, or mobile location within or outside the City. Services do not include professional services as defined in Section
5.07.300.
(2194 § 2, 1991; 2808 § 1, 2012)
"Solicitor"
means and includes every person engaged in selling or soliciting
orders for the sale of any goods, wares or merchandise, magazines,
papers, periodicals, services, or any form of business involving canvassing
and soliciting from house to house, place to place, or business to
business.
(2194 § 2, 1991; 2808 § 1, 2012)
"Vehicle for hire"
means and includes chartered bus, limousine, taxicab, convalescent
transport vehicle, and every motor vehicle used in the business of
carrying passengers for hire, and the destination and route of which
are under the control of passengers being carried therein. Vehicle
for hire does not include ambulances.
(2194 § 2, 1991; 2808 § 1, 2012)
"Vending machines"
means and includes machines or devices that disperse tangible
items, or other goods or services. Such machines may or may not be
coin-operated.
(2194 § 2, 1991; 2808 § 1, 2012)