a. The Chief Financial Officer is hereby charged with the enforcement of the provisions of this Chapter and is hereby empowered to prescribe, adopt, promulgate and enforce rules and regulations relating to any matter pertaining to the administration and enforcement of the provisions of this Chapter, including but not limited to provisions for the reexamination and correction of returns to which an underpayment or overpayment is claimed or found to have been made, and the rules and regulations as promulgated by him shall be binding upon the licensee and employers. All such rules and regulations shall be subject to the consent and approval of the City Manager.
b. The Chief Financial Officer, or any agent or employee designated by him in writing, may examine the books, papers and records of any person or business subject to the provisions of this Chapter in order to determine the accuracy of any return made, or if no return was made, to ascertain the amount of occupational license fees imposed by the terms of this Chapter. Each such person or business is hereby directed and required to give to the Chief Financial Officer or his duly authorized agent or employee the means, facilities and opportunity for such examination and investigation as are hereby authorized. The Chief Financial Officer may enforce this right by application to the appropriate court having jurisdiction over these matters.
c. City Business License Inspectors, as designated by the Chief Financial Officer and City Manager, shall have the authority to conduct on-site inspections and to obtain a list of subcontractors to determine compliance with this Chapter. Any business or business entity receiving tax incentives from the City, including but not limited to the Job Development Incentive Program, that refuse to allow City Business License Inspectors access to conduct on- site inspections and/or to provide a list of subcontractors may be subject to suspensions or terminations of such tax incentives as determined by the Board of Commissioners.
d. The Chief Financial Officer, or designee, in consultation with the City Attorney, shall have the authority to resolve occupational license fee controversies to the extent of waiving penalty or interest, or both, in whole or in part, where it is shown to the satisfaction of the Chief Financial Officer, or designee, that failure to file or pay timely is due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect. In exercising such authority, the Chief Financial Officer, or designee, will consider the facts and circumstances of each particular matter and the hazards and costs of litigation. The Chief Financial Officer has no authority to waive any tax due.
1. “Reasonable cause” exists if the taxpayer establishes to the satisfaction of the Chief Financial Officer, or designee, that either there were significant mitigating factors for the failure or the failure arose as a result of an event, happening or circumstance entirely beyond the knowledge or control of a taxpayer who has exercised due care and prudence in the filing of a return and in the payment of the fee or tax due.
2. In addition to establishing that an event beyond the taxpayer’s knowledge or control caused the failure to file or pay timely, the taxpayer must also establish that the taxpayer acted in a responsible manner both before and after the failure occurred. The taxpayer must demonstrate that the taxpayer undertook appropriate steps to avoid or mitigate the failure and that the taxpayer rectified the failure as promptly as possible once the impediment to compliance was removed or the failure discovered.
3. Events which will not generally be considered as establishing reasonable cause include, but are not limited to the following:
i. Actions of agent or employee. The filing of a tax return and the payment of fees or taxes due are both personal, non-delegable duties of the taxpayer. Reasonable cause is not established by merely showing that the taxpayer relied upon an employee, accountant, attorney, payroll service or other person, who failed to file the return or pay the fee or tax.
ii. Ignorance of the Law. Neither ignorance of the law, nor ignorance of the necessity of filing a return or paying the fee or tax is sufficient in and of itself to relieve the taxpayer from liability for penalty or interest.
iii. No tax forms. Failure to receive or obtain tax forms.
4. If the taxpayer disagrees with the decision of the Chief Financial Officer, or designee, the taxpayer may file an appeal in writing addressed to the City Manager within twenty (20) days following the date of the Chief Financial Officer’s, or designee’s, decision. The City Manager shall review the record and the basis for the Chief Financial Officer’s, or designee’s, decision, and may meet with the taxpayer. The decision of the City Manager shall be final.
e. The Chief Financial Officer is authorized, with the assistance of the City Attorney, to file any and all necessary actions in the appropriate Court of competent jurisdiction to collect any fee, interest, penalty or any other charge related thereto, or necessary, including court costs and a reasonable attorney’s fees to enforce any provision of this Chapter. In addition to the recovery of fees, interest and penalties, the Chief Financial Officer and City Attorney are authorized to seek injunctive or other extraordinary relief to require the delinquent person, business or business entity to cease and desist from operating or conducting in any respect its business activities in the City until all delinquent accounts have been filed and fully paid. The Chief Financial Officer is granted authority to use his best judgment and discretion in bringing such claims for past due occupational license fees or taxes and the Chief Financial Officer is authorized to bring such actions in the name of the City of Bowling Green, Kentucky.
f. Where there has been a claimed overpayment of taxes or fees pursuant to this Chapter, unless otherwise proscribed, a refund or credit shall be made to the extent of overpayment only if a written application for refund or credit is received by the Office of Occupational License within two (2) years from the date the claimed overpayment was made. The authority to refund or credit overpayments of fees and taxes collected pursuant to this Chapter is vested exclusively in the City.
(Ord. BG2020-23, 9/1/2020)