(a) Unless otherwise provided in this article, every person who engages in any business within this City which is subject to tax under the provisions of this article shall be deemed to be engaged in a separate business at each branch establishment or location at which he engages in business and must obtain a separate registration certificate and pay a separate business tax for each classification of business engaged in at each location or branch establishment in the City at which or from which the business activities classified and subject to tax under the provisions of this article are carried on. Each registration certificate so obtained and the payment of the applicable tax for each such classification of business at each such location shall authorize the person named upon the certificate to engage only in the business specified at the location for which the certificate has been issued; provided that where business is engaged in from one or more locations outside the City, only one registration certificate for each classification of business need be issued to the person for engaging in that business in the City from all such outside locations; provided further, that warehouses and distributing plants located in the City used in connection with and incidental to a business for which a registration certificate has been issued to an address located within the City shall not be deemed to be branch establishments or separate locations. (Amended by Ord. No. 131,873, Eff. 3/31/66.)
(b) Whenever the business tax for a business imposed under the provisions of this article is measured by the number of vehicles, devices, machines, or other pieces of equipment used, or whenever the business tax is measured by the gross receipts from the operation of coin-operated machines, the Director of Finance shall issue only one registration certificate; provided that he shall issue for each tax period for which the business tax has been paid, one identifying sticker or symbol for each vehicle, device, machine or other piece of equipment included in the measure of the tax or for each coin-operated machine used in a business where the tax is measured by the gross receipts from such coin-operated machines.