(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to willfully refuse to collect or to pay the tax or to willfully refuse to make the return required to be made by this article; or to willfully make any false or fraudulent return or false statement in any return with the intent to defraud any taxing authority; or to willfully evade the payment of the tax, or any part of the tax; or for any person to willfully aid or abet another in any attempt to evade the payment of the tax, or any part of the tax; or for any officer, partner or principal of any corporation or association to willfully make or willfully permit to be made for such corporation or association any false return, or any false statement in any return authorized by this article, with the intent to evade the payment of such tax.
(b) Any person willfully violating any of the provisions of this article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be subject to a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) for each offense.
(c) For the purposes of this section, the term:
(1) “Willfully” means the intentional violation of a known legal duty to perform any act required to be performed by any provision of this article in respect of which the violation occurs; provided, that the mere failure to perform any act shall not be a willful violation under this article. A willful violation of this article requires that the defendant have had knowledge of or notice of a duty to perform such act, and that the defendant, with knowledge of or notice of such duty, intentionally failed to perform such act.
(2) “Evade” means to willfully and fraudulently commit any act with the intent of depriving the City of payment of any tax which there is a known legal duty to pay.
(3) “Fraud” means any false representation or concealment as to any material fact made by any person with the knowledge that it is not true and correct, with the intention that such representation or concealment be relied upon by the City.
(Ord. 5-04. Passed 10-14-04.)