A. For every person engaged as a principal in the general business of buying and selling securities, the business tax shall be twenty-five dollars per year for the first two persons or less who are engaged or employed in such business, plus ten dollars per year for each of the next ten persons and five dollars per year for each person in excess of twelve.
B. The sum of twenty-five dollars shall be the minimum business tax under this section, and such sum shall be payable in advance upon application for an original registration certificate. Whenever an annual business tax is measured by the number of persons engaged, the person subject to the business tax shall, before the tax becomes delinquent, file with the Collector a written statement setting forth the number of persons engaged in business during the preceding year and pay at such time the amount of the business tax computed upon the measure of the tax reported in the statement.
C. For the purpose of this section, the words "persons engaged in business" shall be deemed and are declared to mean the maximum number of persons, whether owners, partners, officers, employees (including persons engaging their services pursuant to a contract of employment), or any other category, who are directly or indirectly paid for their services by the business for any one-day period during any part of the preceding business registration period. For the purpose of determining the number of persons engaged or employed in business, the person subject to the tax shall add together the number of persons engaged or employed on the first day of each of the immediate past twelve months and divide said sum by twelve. Provided, however, that part-time employees engaged or employed in the business one-half time or less of the regular work period shall not be so included. (Ord. 2141 § 16, 1977: Ord. 2063 § 2 (part), 1975).