A. Unclassified Businesses; Fee Schedule: Every person engaged in a business not specifically mentioned or classified in this chapter shall pay a license fee in accordance with the following schedule:
1. Employees: A basic tax of one hundred fifty dollars ($150.00) per year, which shall cover the first five (5) employees and one hundred thirty-eight dollars ($138.00) per year for each employee in excess of five (5) employees; and
2. Floor Area: In addition, each such person shall pay a tax per square foot of floor area occupied for a business purpose in excess of two thousand (2,000) square feet in accordance with the following chart.
Total Floor Area | Rate Per Square Foot |
2,001 to 5,000 | $0.26 |
5,001 to 50,000 | $0.27 |
50,001 to 100,000 | $0.28 |
100,001 to 250,000 | $0.29 |
250,001 and above | $0.30 |
A tax of fourteen cents ($0.14) per square foot shall be imposed on vacant space available for rent or lease for business purposes, said feet to be payable by the person with the right to possession of the property; and
3. Additional Location: In addition, each such person shall pay nine dollars ($9.00) per year for each additional business location within the city.
4. Tax Credit: Notwithstanding the foregoing, a credit shall be granted against the tax imposed by this section whenever a business subject to the tax imposed by this chapter generates sales and/or use tax in the year immediately preceding the year in which the tax is due. The credit shall be applied to the business registration tax due for the following year. The credit shall be equal to fifty percent (50%) of the portion of the sales and/or use tax generated which was awarded to the city during the twelve (12) month period ending on June 30 preceding the date the tax is due. However, the amount of said credit shall under no circumstances be calculated to be greater than the total amount of tax due.
5. Credit For Sales And Use Tax Revenue: Notwithstanding the foregoing, a business which increases the amount of sales and use tax revenue received by the city from the business or its activities above its "baseline", as defined hereunder, shall receive a credit to the business license tax imposed under this chapter equal to the dollar amount of the increase above the baseline. The amount of business license tax credit shall be determined annually and is subject to approval by the city manager. Said credit shall be applied to the business license tax owed in the next fiscal year only; provided, that, in no event, shall the credit exceed the amount of business license tax owed.
a. Calculation Of Baseline: For the purposes of this subsection, the "baseline" for a business shall be calculated as follows:
(1) For the first fiscal year in which a credit is granted, the "baseline" shall equal the sum of sales and use tax received by the city from the business and its activities and the business license tax imposed by the city in the prior fiscal year.
(2) For each subsequent fiscal year, the baseline amount established under subsection A5a(1) of this section shall be recalculated as follows: the sales and use tax component of the baseline shall be adjusted to reflect any increase from the prior fiscal year in the consumer price index as established in the report of consumer prices for all urban consumers for the Los Angeles-Anaheim- Riverside standard metropolitan statistical area. Said adjustment shall be based on the most recent month for which such price index figure is available on the date the adjustment is calculated. The business license tax component of the baseline shall be recalculated to equal the amount of business license tax imposed on the business under the fee schedule in effect at the time the recalculation is made, including any automatic increase established under this code; provided, that, in no event, shall the amount of business license tax be less than the amount under subsection A5a(1) of this section.
b. Eligibility: A business is not eligible to receive any business license tax credits under this subsection A5 while the business is receiving a business license tax credit under section 3-2-4 of this code.
c. Business Relation Program: The business license tax credit established under this subsection A5 shall be known as the business relation program of the city.
B. Employee Defined: For the purpose of this section, the term "employee" shall mean any person employed by the business and shall include an independent contractor and persons employed by the independent contractor, unless the independent contractor and/or persons employed by the independent contractor has a valid city business license as prescribed in chapter 1 of this title and this chapter.
C. Number Of Employees Determined: The total number of employees for each business for purposes of this section shall be determined by averaging the total number of employees employed by each business during each of the four (4) calendar quarters preceding the date the tax is paid.
D. Floor Area Defined: For the purpose of this section, "floor area" means the total floor space in terms of square footage occupied by an owner, lessee or renter in a building except:
1. Elevator shafts;
2. Stairwells;
3. Courts or atriums, uncovered and open to the sky;
4. Rooms exclusively housing building operating equipment; and
5. Parking areas. (Ord. 1252, 4-9-1996; amd. Ord. 1439, 4-13-2010; Ord. 1643, 12-13-2022)