For the purpose of this subchapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
AUDITOR. Any town employee or agent authorized by the Tax Collector to audit records of a person subject to the tax specified by this subchapter and may include an employee of another city or town.
BUSINESS. Includes all activities or acts, personal or corporate, engaged in and caused to be engaged in with the object of gain, benefit or advantage, either direct or indirect, but not casual activities or sales.
CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY AND USE. No business license shall be issued for any premises unless and until there shall be issued and outstanding a CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY AND USE showing the property to be classified for use for the proposed or contemplated use set forth in the business license.
CONTRACTING. Engaging in business as a contractor.
CONTRACTOR. A person who, for either a fixed sum, price, fee, percentage, bonus or other compensation other than actual wages, undertakes to or offers to undertake to, or purports to have a capacity to undertake to, or submits a bid to, or does himself or herself or by or through others, construct, alter, repair, add to, subtract from, improve, move, wreck or demolish any building, highway, road, railroad, excavation or other structure, project, development or improvement, or to do any part thereof, including the erection of scaffolding or other structures or works in connection therewith, and the term CONTRACTOR includes subcontractors, speciality contractors, developers and speculative builders.
ENGAGING. When used with reference to engaging or continuing in business, includes the exercise of corporate or franchise powers.
FINANCE DIRECTOR. The Finance Director of the town.
GROSS INCOME. The gross receipts of a taxpayer derived from trade, business, commerce or sales and the value proceeding or accruing from the sale of tangible personal property, or service, or both, and without any deduction on account of losses.
GROSS PROCEEDS OF SALES. The value proceeding or accruing from the sale of tangible personal property sold, expense of any kind, or losses, but cash discounts allowed and taken on sales shall not be included as gross income; GROSS INCOME or GROSS PROCEEDS OF SALE shall not be construed to include goods, wares or merchandise, or value thereof, returned by customers when the sale price is refunded either in cash or by credit, nor the sale of any article accepted as part payment on any new article sold, if and when the full sale price of the new article sold, is included in the GROSS INCOME or GROSS PROCEEDS OF SALES, as the case may be.
GROSS RECEIPTS. The total amount of sale, lease or rental price, as the case may be, of the retail sales of retailers, including any services that are part of the sales, valued in money, whether received in money or otherwise, including all receipts, cash, credits and property of every kind or nature, and any amount for which credit is allowed by the seller to the purchaser, without any deduction therefrom on account of the cost of the property sold, materials used, labor or service performed, interest paid, losses or any other expense, but the term GROSS RECEIPTS does not include cash discounts allowed and taken or the sale price of property returned by customers when the full sale price thereof is refunded either in cash or by credit.
NOTICE. A written instrument served by the town, as follows, with time commencing from date of mailing, serving, filing or recording:
(1) By registered or certified mail to the last known address of the person to whom it is required to be given;
(2) By personal service upon the person or his or her lawful representative; or
(3) By filing or recording with the Clerk of the Superior Court or a County Recorder.
PERSON or COMPANY. Used interchangeably, includes an individual, officer, agent, firm, partnership, joint venture, association, corporation, estate, trust or any other group or combination acting as a unit, and the plural as well as the singular number.
REPAIRER. A person who restores or renews products, wares or articles of manufacture, but this definition shall not be interpreted to include activities listed in § 110.03(A)(2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9) and (10).
RETAIL SALE or SALE AT RETAIL. A sale for any purpose other than for resale in the form of tangible personal property, but the expressions “transfer of possession”, “lease” and “rental” as used in the definition of “sale”, mean only the transactions as are found, upon investigation, to be in lieu of sales as defined without the words “lease” or “rental”.
RETAILER. Includes every person engaged in the business of making sales at retail and when, in the opinion of the Tax Collector, it is necessary for the efficient administration of this subchapter, includes dealers, distributors, supervisors and employers, and salespersons, representatives, peddlers or canvassers as the agents of the dealers, distributors, supervisors or employers under whom they operate or from whom they obtain the tangible personal property sold by them, whether in making sales on their own behalf or on the behalf of the dealers, distributors, supervisors or employers.
SALE. Any transfer of title or possession, or both, exchange, barter, lease or rental, conditional or otherwise, in any manner or by means whatsoever, of tangible personal property, for a consideration or any agreement therefor, and includes, but is not limited to:
(1) Any transaction whereby the possession of property is transferred, but the seller retains a security interest for the payment of the purchase price;
(2) The fabrication of tangible personal property for consumers who furnish either directly or indirectly the materials used in the fabrication work, where the fabrication is customarily included in the sale price of similar tangible personal property sold to consumers; and
(3) The furnishing, preparing or serving for a consideration of any tangible personal property consumed on the premises of the person furnishing, preparing or serving the tangible personal property.
STOCK. The goods and wares of a person kept for sale and traffic, and for the purpose of this subchapter shall include, but not be limited to, all tangible personal property specially ordered for any customer, if for any reason the specially ordered property is brought into the town prior to completion of the sale.
TANGIBLE PERSONAL PROPERTY. Personal property which may be seen, weighed, measured, felt, touched or is in any manner perceptible to the senses.
TAX COLLECTOR. The Finance Director of the town or his or her authorized agent.
TAXPAYER. Any person liable for any tax imposed by this subchapter.
WHOLESALER or JOBBER. Any person who sells tangible personal property for resale by a licensed retailer and does not sell tangible personal property for consumption by the purchaser, but when a person normally selling for resale makes any sale at retail or for consumption by the purchaser, the person is defined as a “retailer” for purposes of this subchapter.
(1974 Code, § 8-2-1)