The ordinance codified in this chapter and Chapters
6.08 through
6.16 is enacted solely to raise revenue for municipal purposes, and is not intended for regulation.
(Ord. 720 § 2.18, 1976)
Persons required to pay a license tax for transacting and carrying on any business under this chapter and chapters
6.08 through
6.16 shall not be relieved from the payment of any license tax for the privilege of doing such business required under any other ordinance of the city, and shall remain subject to the regulatory provisions of other ordinances. Payment of the license tax and issuance of a receipt or business license does not constitute a permit to carry on the business in violation of other city ordinances and the collector may require proof of an occupancy permit prior to issuance of the business license.
(Ord. 720 § 2.3, 1976)
When any person shall by use of signs, circulars, cards, telephone
book, internet web pages, newspapers, or other related means cause
to advertise, hold out, or represent that he or she is in business
in the city, or when any person holds an active license or permit
issued by a governmental agency indicating that he or she is in business
in the city, and such person fails to deny by a sworn statement given
to the collector that he or she is not conducting a business in the
city, after being requested to do so by the collector, then these
facts shall be considered prima facie evidence that he or she is conducting
a business in the city.
(Ord. 720 § 2.10, 1976; Ord. 1391.1 § 2, 2008)
Every peddler, solicitor, or other person claiming to be entitled to exemption from the payment of any license provided for in this chapter and Chapters
6.08 through
6.16 alleging that such license casts an unreasonable burden upon his right to engage in commerce with foreign nations or among the several states, or conflicts with the regulations of the United States Congress respecting interstate commerce, shall file a verified statement with the collector, disclosing the interstate or other character of his business entitling such exemption. Such statement shall state the name and location of the company or firm for which the orders are to be solicited or secured; the name of the nearest local or state manager, if any, and his address; the kind of goods, wares or merchandise to be delivered; the place from which the same are to be shipped or forwarded; the method of solicitation or taking orders; the location of any warehouse, factory, or plant within the state of California; the method of delivery; the name and location of the residence of the applicant; and any other facts necessary to establish such claim of exemption. A copy of the order blank, contract form or other papers used by such person in taking orders shall be attached to the affidavit for the information of the collector.
(Ord. 720 § 2.12, 1976)
The collector shall administer this chapter and Chapters
6.08 through
6.16, collect and receive all license taxes required by this chapter and Chapters
6.08 through
6.16, and keep an accurate record thereof.
(Ord. 720 § 2.5, 1976)
The collector may make rules and regulations not inconsistent with the provisions of this chapter and Chapters
6.08 through
6.16 as may be necessary or desirable to aid in the administration and enforcement of the provisions of this chapter and Chapters
6.08 through
6.16 including reexamination and correction of returns and payments.
(Ord. 720 § 2.6, 1976)
The conviction and punishment of any person for transacting
any business without a license shall not excuse or exempt such person
from the payment of any license due or unpaid at the time of such
conviction.
(Ord. 720 § 2.8, 1976)
A. Upon application for or renewal of a business license, in the event that a business can legitimately or reasonably be assigned to more than one classification, the collector shall assign the business to an appropriate and reasonable category. A business that disagrees with the collector’s assignment may seek review thereof, as provided for in subsections
(C) through
(E) below.
B. The
classification of a business may change as a result of a change of
technology and/or the predominant nature of the business’s activities,
and the collector may revise the classification at the next renewal
time.
C. In any case where a licensee or an applicant for a license believes that his or her individual business is not assigned a reasonable classification under this chapter and Chapters
6.08 through
6.16 because of circumstances peculiar to it, as distinguished from other businesses of the same kind, he may apply to the collector for reclassification. Such application shall contain such information as the collector may deem necessary and required in order to determine whether the applicant’s individual business is properly classified.
D. The
collector shall then conduct an investigation following which he shall
assign the applicant’s individual business to the classification
shown to be proper on the basis of such investigation. The proper
classification is that classification which, in the opinion of the
collector, most nearly fits the applicant’s individual business.
The reclassification shall not be retroactive, but shall apply at
the time of the next regularly ensuing calculation of the applicant’s
tax. No business shall be classified more than once in one year.
E. The
collector shall notify the applicant of the action taken on the application
for reclassification. Such notice shall be given by serving it personally
or by depositing it in the United States Post Office at South San
Francisco, California, postage prepaid, addressed to the applicant
at his or her last known address. Such applicant may, within fifteen
days after the mailing or serving of such notice, make written request
to the collector for a hearing on his application for reclassification.
If such request is made within the time prescribed, the collector
shall cause the matter to be set for hearing before the city manager
within fifteen days. The collector shall give the applicant at least
ten days’ notice of the time and place of the hearing in the
manner prescribed above for serving notice of the action taken on
the applications for reclassification. The city manager shall consider
all evidence adduced and his or her findings thereon shall be final.
Written notice of such findings shall be served upon the applicant
in the manner prescribed above for service of notice of the action
taken on the application for reclassification.
(Ord. 720 § 2.4, 1976; Ord. 1391.1 § 3, 2008)
Any person aggrieved by any decision of the collector with respect to the issuance or refusal to issue such license, or other administrative decision, may appeal to the city manager by filing a notice of appeal with the collector. The city manager shall thereupon fix a time and place for hearing such appeal. The collector shall give notice to such person of the time and place of hearing by serving it personally or by depositing it in the United States Post Office at South San Francisco, California, postage prepaid, addressed to such person at his last known address. The city manager shall have authority to determine all questions raised on such appeal and he may approve, modify or disapprove the decision of the collector. No such determination shall conflict with any substantive provision of this chapter or Chapter
6.08 through
6.16.
(Ord. 720 § 2.1, 1976)
Unless specified otherwise, the annual business license tax shall consist of a fixed rate of seventy-five dollars per business (“fixed rate”), plus fifteen dollars multiplied by the average number of employees as defined in Section
6.08.010 (“per employee rate”).
(Ord. 1391.1 § 4, 2008)
The annual business license tax per business shall not exceed
one hundred thousand dollars (“annual cap”).
If a business has multiple locations within the city and is required to obtain a separate business license for each location, as provided for in Section
6.12.040, then the annual cap shall apply separately to the license tax levied on each license.
(Ord. 1391.1 § 5, 2008)
None of the license taxes provided for by Chapter
6.16 shall be so applied as to occasion an undue burden upon interstate commerce or be violative of the equal protection and due process clauses of the Constitution of the United States and the State of California. In any case where a license tax is believed by a licensee or applicant for a license to place an undue burden upon interstate commerce or be violative of such constitutional clauses, he may apply to the collector for an adjustment of the tax. Such application may be made before, at, or within six months after payment of the prescribed license tax. The applicant shall, by sworn statement and supporting testimony, show his method of business and such other information as the collector may deem necessary in order to determine the extent, if any, of such undue burden or violation. The collector shall then conduct an investigation and, after having first obtained the written approval of the city manager, shall fix as the license tax for the applicant an amount that is reasonable and nondiscriminatory or, if the license tax has already been paid, shall order a refund of the amount over and above the license tax so fixed. In fixing the license tax to be charged, the collector shall have the power to determine a license tax which will assure that the license tax assessed shall be uniform with that assessed on businesses of like nature, so long as the amount assessed does not exceed the license tax as prescribed by Chapter
6.16.
(Ord. 720 § 2.2, 1976)
Whenever the amount of any license tax, penalty, or interest has been paid more than once or has been erroneously or illegally collected by the city under this chapter or Chapters
6.08 through
6.16, it may be refunded provided a verified claim in writing therefor, stating the specific ground upon which said claim is founded, is filed with the collector within three years from the date of payment. The claim shall be audited by the collector and shall be made on forms provided by the city. If the claim is approved by the collector, the excess amount collected may be refunded or may be credited on any amounts then due and payable from the person from whom it was collected, and the balance may be refunded to such person, his or her administrators or executors.
(Ord. 720 § 2.16, 1976)
In addition to all other power conferred upon him, the collector
shall have the power, for good cause shown, to extend the time for
filing any required sworn statement or application for a period not
exceeding thirty days, and in such case to waive any penalty that
would otherwise have accrued, except that seven percent simple interest
shall be added to any tax determined to be payable.
(Ord. 720 § 2.13, 1976)
The amount of any license tax and penalty imposed by the provisions of this chapter and Chapters
6.08 through
6.16 shall be deemed a debt to the city. An action may be commenced in the name of said city in any court of competent jurisdiction, for the amount of any delinquent license tax and penalties.
(Ord. 720 § 2.14, 1976)
All remedies prescribed under this chapter and Chapters
6.08 through
6.16 shall be cumulative and the use of one or more remedies by the city shall not bar the use of any other remedy for the purpose of enforcing the provisions of this chapter or Chapters
6.08 through
6.16.
(Ord. 720 § 2.17, 1976)
A. Any person committing or omitting an act which violates any of the provisions of this chapter, or Chapters
6.08 through
6.16 of this code, is guilty of a misdemeanor, except sidewalk vendors operating via their person or via a human-powered device shall be regulated under Chapter
6.90 of this code and exempt from the requirements of this section.
B. Each such person shall be guilty of a separate offense for each and every day during any portion of which any violation of any provision of this chapter, or Chapters
6.08 through
6.16 of this code occurs by commission or omission, or is continued or permitted by any such person.
(Ord. 720 § 2.15, 1976; Ord. 904 § 1, 1982; Ord. 1582 § 3, 2019)