A. 
In any case where a licensee or an applicant for a license believes that his individual business is not assigned to the proper classification under this section 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 require in order to determine whether the applicant's individual business is properly classified. 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 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, except where the applicant applies for reclassification within 15 days of his original classification, in which case the reclassification shall be retroactive. No business shall be classified more than once in one year.
B. 
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 Livermore, California, postage prepaid, addressed to the applicant at his last known address. Such applicant may, within 15 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 Council within 15 days. The collector shall give the applicant at least 10 days' notice of the time and place of the hearing, in the manner prescribed above for serving notice of the action taken on the application for reclassification. The Council shall consider all evidence adduced, and its findings thereon shall be final. Written notice of such finding shall be served upon the applicant in the manner prescribed above for service of the notice of the action taken on the application for reclassification.
(1960 code § 12.23.11; Ord. 2065 § 1(A), 2018)
A. 
Every person engaged in the business of selling any goods, wares or merchandise at retail within the City limits, including that of route salesman, and not otherwise specifically taxed by other business license provisions of this article and Article I of this chapter, shall pay an annual license fee of $.80 for each $1,000 of gross receipts.
B. 
For the purpose of this section, a "retail sale" or "sale at retail" means a sale of goods, wares or merchandise for any purpose other than resale in the regular course of business.
C. 
Fast-food Establishments. Every person engaged in the operation of a fast-food establishment shall pay a license fee of $2.40 for each $1,000 of gross receipts. For the purpose of this classification, "fast-food establishment" means a restaurant in a detached building primarily engaged in the business of providing food packaged and served in such a manner as to permit immediate consumption off the premises.
D. 
Grocers. Every person engaged in business as a grocer shall pay a license fee of $.50 for each $1,000 of gross receipts.
E. 
Motor Vehicle Sales. Every person engaged in the business of selling new or used motor vehicles at retail shall pay a license fee of $.50 for each $1,000 of gross receipts.
F. 
Real Property Sales. The sale of any more than two parcels of real property, improved or unimproved, in any one license tax year, shall be construed as a retail sale.
(1960 code § 12.23; Ord. 2065 § 1(A), 2018)
A. 
For the purpose of this section, a "wholesale sale" or "sale at wholesale" means a sale of goods, wares or merchandise, including foodstuffs, for the purpose of resale in the regular course of business.
B. 
Every person engaged in the business of selling any goods, wares or merchandise at wholesale within the City limits, and delivered within the City, and not otherwise specifically taxed by other business license provisions of this article and Article I, shall pay an annual license fee of $.80 for each $1,000 of gross receipts.
C. 
Every person engaged in the business of selling any goods, wares or merchandise at wholesale within the City limits for delivery outside the City, where any element of the selling process has occurred within the City, and such transaction is not otherwise specifically taxed by other business license provisions of this article and Article I shall pay an annual license fee of $.80 based on 50 percent of gross receipts from such sales, unless otherwise exempted.
(1960 code § 12.23.1; Ord. 2065 § 1(A), 2018)
A. 
Every person conducting or carrying on the operation of an administrative headquarters or a branch office in the City shall pay a license fee of $.80 for each $1,000 of the total of all expenses incurred by the business at such administrative headquarters during the course of the period covered by the business license in question. This includes but is not limited to gross payroll, utilities, rent, supplies and equipment.
B. 
"Administrative headquarters"
means a location where the principal business transacted consists of providing administrative or management-related services such as, but not limited to, recordkeeping, data processing, research, advertising, public relations, personnel administration, legal, and corporate headquarters services to other locations where the operations of the same business are conducted which lead more directly to the production of gross receipts.
C. 
"Branch offices"
means a location within the City where the principal business transacted consists of providing management-related services such as, but not limited to, recordkeeping, public relations, sale-order preparation, advertising, personnel administration, intercompany or intracorporate legal services, and other services to other locations where the operation of the same business is conducted which more directly lead to the production of gross receipts.
D. 
A portion of a business which is a separate and clearly defined administrative headquarters may be taxed under this classification on that separate portion.
(1960 code § 12.24.1; Ord. 2065 § 1(A), 2018)
Every person transacting and carrying on the businesses enumerated in this section shall pay a license tax as follows:
A. 
Circus or carnival, $250.00 for the first day, plus $150.00 for each additional day;
B. 
Other exhibitions or entertainments on an occasional basis not otherwise licensed, $20.00 per day for up to a 200-seat capacity, and $20.00 for each 200 or fraction thereof beyond the first 200;
C. 
Operation of a temporary place of sale, such as an auction at other than a fixed place of business, $60.00 per day;
D. 
Itinerant vendors, peddlers, hawkers, solicitors and telephone solicitors, $20.00 per day;
E. 
Cardrooms, $200.00 per year for each table;
F. 
Billiard rooms and poolrooms, $60.00 per year for the first table, plus $30.00 per year for each additional table;
G. 
Public dancehall, nightclub, or any place where dancing is permitted, $200.00 per year or $30.00 per night;
H. 
Amusement concession, when not connected with any fair or carnival, $20.00 per day per ride, game or concession.
(1960 code § 12.25; Ord. 1212 § 1, 1986)
A. 
Every person conducting or carrying on a business, who is required to be licensed as a contractor by the state, and who undertakes to or offers to undertake to, or submits bids to, or does himself or by or through others construct, alter, repair, add to, subtract from, improve, move, wreck or demolish any building, highway, 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, is defined as a contractor.
B. 
The term "contractor," as used in this section, also includes "subcontractor" and "specialty contractor," and shall pay an annual license fee of $.80 for each $1,000 of gross receipts for work engaged in at sites within the City.
(1960 code § 12.23.6; Ord. 2065 § 1(A), 2018)
Nothing in this article or Article I shall be construed to require the inclusion in the computation of the amount of the license fee due hereunder of the gross receipts of the sale of goods which are shipped by the seller to points outside of the state of California.
(1960 code § 12.23.2)
A. 
Each person engaged in the business of manufacturing or processing any goods, wares, merchandise, articles, substances or commodities at a fixed place of business within the City shall pay an annual license fee of $.80 for each $1,000 of gross receipts, less the value of raw materials or the value of the partially completed product at the time it enters the manufacturing process within the City.
B. 
Whenever:
1. 
There are no gross receipts because the manufacturing process does not result in a finished product; or
2. 
The final product consists principally of raw materials or component parts manufactured elsewhere by the licensee;
then the following alternate method of calculating gross receipts under this section shall be used: The total of all expenses incurred in the manufacturing process at the business location within the City, including, but not limited to, gross payroll, utilities, rent and equipment. The tax due is the greater of the calculation under subsection A or B of this section.
C. 
A business taxed under this section shall not be considered either a retailer or wholesaler with respect to the sale of goods manufactured by such business within the City.
(1960 code § 12.24; Ord. 1412 § 9, 1993; Ord. 2065 § 1(A), 2018)
Every person conducting, managing or carrying on the business of lending money or advancing credit, or arranging for the loan of money or the advancing of credit as principal or agent, including, but not limited to, savings and load institutions, finance companies, mortgage-loan brokers, moneylenders or money brokers, where the obligation to repay the money lent or debt incurred or to compensate for the advance of credit is secured by a lien on real or personal property, or some interest in real property, unless such business is exempt therefrom by law, shall pay an annual license fee of $2.40 per $1,000 of gross receipts.
(1960 code § 12.23.4)
A. 
Every person not having a fixed place of business within the City who engages in business within the City shall pay a license tax at the same rate prescribed in this chapter for persons engaged in the same type of business from and having a fixed place of business within the City.
B. 
Every person not having a fixed place of business within the City who delivers goods, wares or merchandise of any kind by vehicle, or who provides any services by the use of vehicles in the City shall pay a license tax of $60.00 per year per vehicle.
(1960 code § 12.26; Ord. 2065 § 1(A), 2018)
A. 
As used in this section, "broker" shall include "commission merchant." The term "commission merchant" means a person who, for compensation in the form of commission, engages in selling activities, including the solicitation or negotiation of a sale or the forwarding of sales orders which lead to the sale of goods, wares or merchandise owned by some person other than the commission merchant. The business of a commission merchant shall be deemed to include also the buying and selling of goods, wares or merchandise by a person, to the extent that the person:
1. 
Does not engage in the business of manufacturing, refining, fabricating, milling, treating or other processing of the goods, wares or merchandise bought and sold, and does not cause such goods, wares or merchandise to be manufactured, refined, fabricated, milled, treated or otherwise processed;
2. 
Does not obtain or retain title to such goods, wares or merchandise except in one or more of the following situations: While such may be in transit, or for short periods of time before transportation commences or after it ceases; and
3. 
Does not store or warehouse such goods, wares or merchandise except during one or more of the following situations: While such goods, wares or merchandise are actually in transit or for short periods of time before transportation commences or after it ceases.
B. 
Every person engaged in any business of a professional, semiprofessional, or connected or pertinent business nature shall pay an annual license fee of $1.60 for each $1,000 of gross receipts for services performed in the City. The following list includes but shall not be limited to several examples of professional, semiprofessional or connected businesses: accountant; advertising; advertising counsel, analyst; appraiser, including State Inheritance Tax appraiser; architect; artist; assayer; attorney at law; attorney, patent; auditor; bail-bond broker; barber; beautician; broker; business opportunity broker; business and safety consultant; business or public agency consultant; cemetery broker; certified public accountant; chiropodist; chiropractor; civil engineer; collection agency or mercantile agency; commercial artist; consulting engineer; dentist; designer or decorator; draftsman; drugless practitioner (provided, however, that this section shall not apply to persons who treat the sick through prayer or spiritual means); electrical engineer; electrologist; employment agency; geologist, herb doctor (prescribes); illustrator or showcard writer; insurance adjuster or claims adjuster; investment and investment trust; insurance broker; landscape gardener or landscape architect; lapidary; mapmaker or cartographer; mechanical engineer; mineral, oil and gas broker; mortician; naprapath and naturopath; oculist; optician; optometrist; osteopath; outdoor advertising; pharmacist; physician; physiotherapist; psychologist; podiatrist; real estate broker, and salesmen not on salary; stock and bond broker; surgeon; surveyor; tax counselor; taxidermist; veterinarian; and X-ray laboratory.
C. 
Nothing contained in this section shall be deemed or construed as applying to any person engaged in any of the professions or occupations hereinbefore enumerated, solely as an employee carrying on any such business in the City.
D. 
Every person conducting, managing or carrying on the business of furnishing reports on persons to insurance companies for underwriting purposes, or furnishing reports on persons to mercantile concerns as a basis for extending credit, shall be classified as "semiprofessional," and shall pay an annual license fee based upon the schedule set forth in this section.
(1960 code § 12.23.3; Ord. 2065 § 1(A), 2018)
A. 
Every person engaging in the business of exhibiting or operating any amusement device shall pay an annual license fee of $5.00 for each $1,000 of gross receipts. For the purpose of this section, "amusement device" means any electrical or mechanical apparatus which, upon insertion of a coin, slug or token in any slot or receptacle attached to or connected with such apparatus, operates or may be operated for use as a game, contest or amusement, including, but not limited to, mechanical or electrical phonograph-record players.
B. 
Every other person engaged in the business of providing entertainment, recreation or amusement, and not otherwise specifically taxed by other business license provisions of this article or Article I shall pay an annual license fee of $.80 for each $1,000 of gross receipts. For the purpose of this section, the "business of providing entertainment, recreation or amusement" shall include but is not limited to the following: theatrical or music entertainment, all shows or exhibits, exhibiting motion pictures, sports and athletic exhibitions or contents, poolroom or billiard room, bowling alley, golf course, and circus.
(1960 code § 12.23.5)
A. 
Every person engaged in the business of renting or letting any building, structure or other property for commercial purposes, or a portion of such building, structure or property within the City, for a purpose other than dwelling, sleeping or lodging to a tenant, shall pay an annual license fee of $1.20 for each $1,000 of gross receipts.
B. 
A lessor otherwise subject to the license fee described in subsection A of this section shall not be exempt therefrom by reason of the fact that one or more persons may reside within a building or structure where the primary purpose of the particular tenancy or the primary use or right to use by the tenant is for some purpose other than dwelling, sleeping or lodging.
(1960 code § 12.23.8; Ord. 2065 § 1(A), 2018)
Each person engaged in the business of renting, leasing, conducting or operating a house, duplex, apartment, motel, roominghouse, hotel, trailer court, or mobile home consisting of a total of two or more dwelling units shall pay an annual license fee of $1.20 for each $1,000 of gross receipts. The term "dwelling unit" shall be as defined in LMC § 3.08.170.
(1960 code § 12.24; Ord. 1412 § 10, 1993)
A. 
Persons carrying on, conducting, managing or engaging in the business of providing utility service shall pay an annual license fee of $.80 for each $1,000 of gross receipts.
B. 
For the purpose of this classification, "utility service" shall include, but not be limited to, telephone, telegraph, gas, electric, CATV, and garbage and rubbish collection; provided, however, that any tax levied under this classification on a utility specified in the first paragraph of Section 14 of Article XIII of the State Constitution shall not exceed in amount that permissible under said Section 14.
(1960 code § 12.23.9)
Each person engaged in the letting, leasing or operation of coin-operated vending machines or other mechanical devices, unless enumerated by another section of this article, shall pay a license tax of $5.00 for each $1,000 of gross receipts from such machines or devices.
(1960 code § 12.25.1; Ord. 1412 § 11, 1993)
Persons carrying on, conducting, managing or engaging in any business consisting of warehousing or storage shall pay an annual tax of $.80 for each $1,000 of gross receipts.
(1960 code § 12.24.2)
Any person, firm or corporation engaged in the business of selling water to the City or to the inhabitants of the City shall pay a license tax of one percent of its annual gross receipts, payable quarterly, and such person, firm or corporation shall submit a verified quarterly statement showing its gross receipts for the preceding quarter within 30 days after such quarter.
(1960 code § 12.23.10; Ord. 2065 § 1(A), 2018)
Any person engaged in a business not specifically taxed by other provisions of this article or Article I of this chapter, and not otherwise exempted, shall pay an annual tax of $1.60 for each $1,000 of gross receipts.
(1960 code § 12.26.1)