(a) A tax to provide revenue for general township purposes is hereby levied, assessed and imposed upon every person engaging in any of the following occupations or businesses in the township at the rate hereinafter set forth, and such persons shall pay a mercantile tax for the year commencing as soon as this chapter legally becomes effective in January, 1975, at such rate, subject to the exemptions hereinafter set forth. However, in no event shall the annual mercantile tax herein imposed be less than $10 for each of the places of business of every such person:
(1) Wholesale vendors or dealers in goods, wares and merchandise of every kind, at the rate of one mill on each $1 of the gross volume of business transacted by him or her during the license year;
(2) Retail vendors or dealers in goods, wares and merchandise of every kind, and all persons engaged in conducting restaurants or other places where food, drink or refreshments are sold, at the rate of one and one-half mills on each $1 of the gross volume of business transacted by him or her during the license year; and
(3) Wholesale and retail vendors or dealers in goods, wares and merchandise of every kind at the rate of one mill on each $1 of the gross volume of wholesale business transacted by him or her, and one and one-half mills on each $1 of the gross volume of retail business transacted by him or her during the license year.
(b) The tax imposed by this section shall not apply to the dollar volume of annual business covering the resale of goods, wares and merchandise taken by a dealer at a trade-in, or as part payment for other goods, wares and merchandise, except to the extent that the resale price exceeds the trade-in allowance.
(Ord. 391, passed 12-18-1974)