Every person required to have a license pursuant to this Chapter shall produce and exhibit the license certificate whenever requested to do so by any person authorized to issue or inspect licenses or collect license taxes. A license certificate issued under this Chapter shall include the following information:
(A)
Every person required to have a license under this Chapter shall apply for it to the City Manager. The application shall be a written statement upon a form provided by the City Manager and shall be written by the applicant under penalty of perjury, or sworn to by the applicant before a person authorized to administer oaths. The applicant shall set forth such information as may be necessary to determine the amount of the license tax to be paid by the applicant.
(B)
If the amount of the license tax to be paid by the applicant is based upon gross receipts, the application shall set forth the gross receipts for the applicable period, as provided in SJBMC 3-3-100.
(C)
The City Manager shall impose a fee to recover the administrative costs of processing an application for the issuance and/or renewal of a license required by this Chapter. Such fees shall be established by resolution by the City Council. The payment of fees under this Chapter shall not preclude the imposition of any administrative fees necessary to recover actual costs established by the City Council by resolution or under other provisions of the San Juan Bautista Municipal Code, or any other fees required under applicable laws.
(A)
Every person applying for a first license shall estimate the gross receipts, the number of machines, devices or other applicable basis for the period to be covered by the license to be issued. The estimate, if accepted by the City Manager as being reasonable, shall be used in determining the amount of license tax to be paid by the applicant; however, the amount of the license tax so determined shall be tentative only. The person shall, within thirty (30) days after the expiration of the period for which the license was issued, furnish the City Manager with a sworn statement, upon a form to be provided by the City Manager, setting forth any required information and showing, during the period of the license, the gross receipts, the number of machines, devices or other applicable basis. The license tax shall be determined and paid upon such applicable basis, as provided in SJBMC 3-3-615, with credit being given for the tentative license tax previously paid.
(B)
The license shall be paid and prorated as provided in SJBMC 3-3-600.
(A)
The applicant for the renewal of a license shall submit to the City Manager for his guidance in determining the amount of the license tax to be paid by the applicant, a written statement, upon a form to be provided by the City Manager, written under penalty of perjury or sworn to before a person authorized to administer oaths. The form shall set forth such information concerning the type of the applicant’s business and the gross receipts derived or other applicable basis during the preceding year as may be required by the City Manager to enable him to determine the amount of the license tax to be paid by the applicant.
(B)
The City Manager shall determine the average monthly gross receipts, the number of machines, devices or other applicable basis and compute the license fee payable for twelve (12) months. The license fee payable for the next period shall be the amount based upon the computed twelve (12) months of applicable base. For the purpose of this Section, a fractional part of a month is considered as a full month.
(C)
Applications for renewal shall be submitted to the City Manager no later than June 1st in order to allow time to calculate the appropriate amount due and send billings by June 15th. Any business not submitting a renewal application by said date shall be billed at the category billed for the previous year, plus a penalty of twenty-five percent (25%) of the license tax.
(A)
No statement is conclusive as to the basis for determining the license tax for that business, and filing a statement does not preclude the City from collecting the sum actually due and payable.
(B)
All persons subject to this Chapter shall keep complete records of all business transactions and maintain these records for at least three (3) years. The City Manager may, after five (5) days’ written notice, inspect the records of any person engaged in business within the City for the purpose of determining the true license tax of that person.
(C)
Refusal to allow an inspection at a reasonable time and place is grounds to revoke or to refuse issuance of a license.
(D)
The amount of license tax paid at the time the license is issued is not conclusive, and shall not preclude the City from collecting, by appropriate action, such sum as is actually due and payable hereunder. If the City Manager desires further proof of the actual amount of gross receipts of any licensee, he shall be entitled to examine sales tax records for the purpose of ascertaining the amount of gross receipts shown on those records. If examination discloses the fact that the licensee has underpaid his license, then no renewal license shall be issued until the amount of underpayments have been paid in full, together with a penalty at the rate set forth in SJBMC 3-3-605. The new license fee, based upon the figures disclosed by such examination, shall also be paid in full before the renewal license shall be issued.
(A)
If any of the following occur, the City Manager shall determine the amount of license tax due by means of such information as he may be able to obtain:
(1)
A person fails to file a required statement within the time prescribed;
(2)
After demand has been made by the City Manager, the person fails to file a corrected statement within fifteen (15) days after notification; or
(3)
It appears to the satisfaction of the City Manager that a statement filed does not set forth the true facts of the business for which a license is required.
(B)
In case this determination is made, the City Manager shall give notice of the amount assessed by serving it personally or by depositing it in the U.S. Post Office at San Juan Bautista, California, postage prepaid, addressed to the person so assessed at the address appearing on his last license or application. The person may, within ten (10) days after the serving or mailing of the notice, apply in writing to the City Manager for a hearing on the amount of the license tax. If an application is made, the City Manager shall give not less than five (5) days’ written notice, in the manner prescribed herein, to the licensee to show cause, at a time and place fixed in the notice, why the amount specified should not be fixed for the license. At the hearing the licensee may appear and offer evidence why the specified tax should not be fixed as the license tax. After the hearing, the City Manager shall determine the tax to be charged and shall give written notice to the licensee in the manner prescribed herein of such determination and the amount of such tax.
(C)
If application by the licensee for a hearing is not made within the time prescribed, the license tax determined by the City Manager is final.
Any person aggrieved by any decision of any administrative officer or agent of the City with respect to the issuance or refusal to issue a license may appeal to the Council by filing a notice of appeal with the City Clerk of the City of San Juan Bautista; such notice shall be filed not later than ten (10) days following any decision. The Council shall thereupon fix a time and a place for a public hearing on such appeal. The City Clerk shall give such notice to the person of the time and place of the hearing by serving it personally or by depositing it in the United States Post Office in San Juan Bautista, California, postage prepaid, addressed to such person at his last known address, and by posting at a conspicuous place at the business location.
(A)
No license issued under this Chapter is transferable from person to person, unless upon transfer of the business the ultimate ownership is substantially similar to the ownership existing before transfer. For purposes of this Section, stockholders, bond holders, partnerships or other persons holding an interest in a corporation or other entity are regarded as having ultimate ownership of that corporation or entity.
(B)
Upon sale or transfer of a business to a new owner, the new owner must apply for a business license as provided in SJBMC 3-3-505; however, the license tax for that period will be calculated on a pro rata basis for that year, as provided in SJBMC 3-3-600(C).
A person licensed to transact business at a particular place may have the existing license amended to authorize the transaction of the same business at some other location, upon application and paying a fee of an amount fixed by resolution of the City Council.
(A)
A licensee transacting and carrying on business at a fixed place of business in the City shall keep the license posted in a conspicuous place upon the premises where the business is carried on.
(B)
A licensee transacting and carrying on business but not operating at a fixed place of business in the City shall keep the license upon his person at all times while transacting and carrying on the business for which it is issued.
(C)
Whenever an identifying sticker, tag, plate or symbol is issued for a vehicle, device, machine or other piece of equipment included in the measure of a license tax, the person to whom issued shall keep it firmly affixed upon the equipment at the location designated by the City Manager. The sticker, tag, plate or symbol shall not be removed during the period for which it is used.
(D)
No person shall give away, sell or transfer an identifying sticker, tag, plate or symbol to another person, or permit its use by another person.
(E)
A duplicate license may be issued by the City Manager to replace a license previously issued under this Chapter which has been lost or destroyed upon the licensee filing statement of that fact and at the time of filing the statement paying to the City Manager twenty dollars ($20.00).