There is imposed upon any business, trade, profession, calling and/or occupation conducted within the City a business tax in the amount set forth in Chapter 4.18 of this title. It is unlawful for any person, whether as principal or agent, or employee, either for himself/herself or for any other person, to transact and carry on any business, trade, profession, calling or occupation within the City without first having procured a tax certificate from the City to do so, and paid the business tax therefor. Exceptions to this requirement are set forth in Chapter 4.14 of this title.
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Initial business taxes are due and payable within thirty days after commencement of business in the City. The payment of the taxes shall not in any way constitute a right or permission to begin operations of said business.
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When any person by use of signs, circulars, business cards, telephone book or newspapers advertises, holds out or represents that such person is conducting a business within the City, or when any person holds an active license or permit issued by a governmental agency indicating that such person is in business within the City, or when any person indicates any other evidence of transacting and carrying on business as may be defined elsewhere herein and such person fails to deny by a sworn statement given to the collector that he or she is conducting a business within the City, after being requested to do so by the collector, then the foregoing facts shall be considered prima facie evidence that such person is conducting a business within the City.
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Whenever any person is engaged in two or more correlated businesses, or is carrying on two or more allied activities at the same location and under the same ownership and management then in that event the business tax shall be applied once only, and for which amount a single combined tax certificate shall be issued. Provided, however, that nothing contained in this section shall be construed to relieve the payment of two or more business taxes when required, where two or more separate businesses are conducted in the same location by the same owner and management and such businesses are not construed by the collector to be correlated or allied with each other. An appropriate business tax as set forth in this title shall be paid for each business.
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Nothing contained in this title shall be construed to relieve the obligation to obtain a separate tax certificate and to pay the appropriate business tax required for each business owned or conducted by a separate owner within an individual establishment or location whether or not under the same management.
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Any person who operates any business, whether upon a cost, rental or commission basis as a concession or upon rented floor space in or upon the premises of any tax certificate holder shall be required to obtain a separate and independent license pursuant to this title except as may be otherwise specified.
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A. 
Where a business tax is imposed upon any business pursuant to this title, and such business is conducted with branch establishments or at separate fixed places, the tax shall be computed as if each such branch or place were a separate and independent business.
B. 
A separate tax certificate shall be obtained for each branch establishment or location of the business and for each separate type of business at the same location. Each tax certificate shall meet the certificate holder's obligation to have a tax certificate only for the business described therein, at the location specified in the tax certificate, and in the manner designated in such tax certificate.
C. 
Warehouses and distributing plants used in connection with and incidental to a business shall not be deemed to be separate places of business or branch establishments.
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Any person who shall associate temporarily with any local business, dealer, trader or merchant, or by conducting any temporary business in connection with, or as a part of or in the name of, any local business, dealer, trader or merchant, shall not be relieved from the provisions of this title and shall be required to pay the appropriate business tax as specified herein.
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In the event that any business conducted, managed or carried on in the City is organized as a partnership or joint venture, the scheduled business tax need be paid only by the partnership or joint venture.
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In the event that any business conducted, managed or carried on in the City is organized as a general law corporation, pursuant to the California General Corporation Law, the scheduled business tax need be paid only by the corporation.
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In the event that any business conducted, managed or carried on in the City is organized as a professional corporation, the scheduled business tax need be paid only by the corporation.
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Any person required to pay a business tax for conducting a business under this title shall not be relieved from the payment of any other permit charge, fee or tax for the privilege of conducting such business required under any other provision of this Code or any other ordinance or regulation of the City or other agency, and such person shall remain subject to all regulatory provisions.
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Every person acting as a general contractor, whether building for their own occupancy or not, shall file with the collector a full, true and complete written statement, signed by such person, under penalty of perjury, listing all subcontractors who have performed or shall perform any service whatsoever for such person within the City for which a tax certificate is required under the provisions of this title. Any builder-owner, general engineering contractor, specialty contractor, or subcontractor, subcontracting any work shall be deemed a general contractor for the purpose of this section. Said statement shall include the name, address, telephone number, state license number and specialty classification of each person required to have a tax certificate.
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The tax certificate issued pursuant to the provisions of this title constitute a receipt for the business tax paid and shall have no other legal effect. A tax certificate is a requirement, not a permit, to transact and carry on any business activity within this City. The granting of a tax certificate for a business shall not be deemed a permit to conduct the same in an unlawful manner or on premises where such business is prohibited by law.
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The collector may refer to any governmental agency any statement and all other information submitted by persons subject to the provisions of this title in connection with the conduct of a business regulated or supervised or otherwise the concern of any such agency, including agencies concerned with health regulations, zoning conformance, fire safety, police considerations, or any other safeguard of the public interest. Failure to comply with conditions required by other agency review may result in revocation of the tax certificate once granted.
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If any business tax imposed by this title is for any reason held to be discriminatory or invalid in amount, by the decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of a lesser amount imposed by the collector. The City Council hereby declares that it would have imposed a business tax of some amount on the business, occupation, calling, trade, vocation or other enterprise in question, irrespective of the fact that any one or more of the business taxes imposed herein may be declared discriminatory or invalid in amount.
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It is unlawful for the collector to make known to the public in any manner whatsoever information obtained about the business affairs or operations of an applicant obtained by an investigation of records and equipment of any person required to obtain a tax certificate, or pay a business tax, or any other person visited or examined in the discharge of official duty, or the amount or source of income, profits, losses, expenditures, or any particular thereof. All gross receipts statements or estimates required by this title shall be confidential and are hereby declared not to be public records. Any unauthorized disclosure or use of such information by any officer, agent or employee of the City shall be subject to the penalty provisions of this Code in addition to any other penalties provided by law. Provided that nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent:
A. 
The disclosure to, or the examination of records and equipment by, another city official, employee, or agent for collection of taxes for the sole purpose of administering or enforcing any provisions of this title, or collecting taxes imposed hereunder;
B. 
The disclosure of information to, or the examination of records by, federal or state officials, or the tax officials of another city or county, if a reciprocal arrangement exists, or to a grand jury or court of law, upon subpoena;
C. 
The disclosure of information and results of examination of records of particular taxpayers, to a court of law in a proceeding brought to determine the existence or amount of any business tax liability of the particular taxpayers to the City;
D. 
The disclosure after the filing of a written request to that effect, to the taxpayer himself or herself, or to his or her successors, receivers, trustees, executors, administrators, assignees and guarantors, if directly interested, of information as to the times included in the measure of any tax paid, any unpaid tax or amounts of tax required to be collected, interest and penalties;
E. 
The disclosure of the names and business addresses of persons to whom tax certificates are currently issued, and the general type or nature of their business;
F. 
The disclosure by way of public meeting or otherwise of such information as may be necessary to the City Council in order to permit it to be fully advised as to the facts when a taxpayer files an appeals claim for tax-exemption, tax certificate reinstatement, refund of forfeited taxes or bonds, compromise with regard to a claim asserted against him or her by the City for business taxes, or when acting upon any other matter;
G. 
The disclosure of general statistics regarding taxes collected or business done in the City.
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