(a) Any person, business, corporation, partnership or other entity that after January 1, 2016, either commences its initial operations within the City limits of the City of Princeton or relocates from outside the City limits of Princeton to within the City limits of Princeton, shall be eligible to apply to the City Council of Princeton for a tax exemption for business and occupation tax such that if Council in its discretion grants the application, then for the first year the business exists, it shall be entitled to a one hundred percent (100%) exemption from Business and Occupation Tax. Any business that is eligible for the exemption set forth in the present section shall make application to the City Council of Princeton to obtain the benefit of the exemption set forth herein and the City Council shall have full authority and complete discretion to grant or deny any application made pursuant to the provisions of the present section.
(Passed 12-14-15.)
(b) In evaluating applications for the tax incentive provided in subsection (a) hereof the following criteria shall be considered:
(1) The size of the business. A factor that is beneficial in determining the size of a business is the number of employees. There shall be a preference for businesses with a total of twenty (20) employees or less for the entire entity with respect to the Business and Occupation Tax Incentive.
(Passed 10-12-99.)
(2) The gross revenue of the business shall also be considered. There shall be a preference for businesses that have total gross revenues of all entities not exceeding three million dollars ($3,000,000) annually (or seven hundred fifty thousand dollars ($750,000) quarterly).
(Passed 6-9-03.)
(3) In the event the business is a branch or subsidiary or associated entity of a larger business or corporation, the total number of employees and total gross revenue of the entire entity must be disclosed so that it may be considered with respect to the Business and Occupation Tax Incentive.
(4) The nature of the business shall also be considered when evaluating an application for the Business and Occupation Tax Incentive. Businesses that require extraordinary uses of City services or are otherwise unduly burdensome on the City services may be disqualified to receive the Business and Occupation Tax Incentive based on the nature of the business, such as businesses that involve the use of hazardous material, hazardous activities or deal with other activities that require an unusually high demand of fire or police services of the City.
(Passed 10-12-99.)
(5) It is the intent of the present Business and Occupation Tax Incentive that a business, person, corporation, associated entity or other entity shall only be allowed the Business and Occupation Tax Incentive once and the termination of any business and subsequent opening thereof under another name shall not be deemed to be an entity that is eligible to receive the present Business and Occupation Tax Incentive if the business is owned by the same person or persons or persons residing in said person’s or person’s household. (Passed 4-9-12.)
(6) In the event any business, person or other entity that has applied for and received the Business and Occupation Tax Incentive that is the subject of the present policy moves or otherwise relocates outside the City limits of Princeton, West Virginia within six (6) months after the most recent Business and Occupation Tax Incentive that was approved for the tax obligor, the tax obligor shall reimburse the City for the total amount of Business and Occupation Tax that was subject to the Business and Occupation Tax Incentive.
(Passed 12-14-15)
(c) Any business, even those exceeding the gross revenue discussed in subsection (b)(2) hereof, voluntarily entering the City of Princeton by annexation by minor boundary adjustment shall also qualify for the Tax Incentive contained in this section provided that providing the tax incentive would not place an undue hardship on the resources of the City of Princeton.
(Passed 6-9-03.)