(a) Business of Manufacturing, Compounding or Preparing for Sale Any Article, Substance or Commodity. Upon every person engaging or continuing within the City in the business of manufacturing, compounding or preparing for sale, profit or commercial use, either directly or through the activity of others in whole or part, any article or articles, substance or substances, commodity or commodities or electric power produced by public utilities or others and not taxed under other provisions of this article, the amount of the tax to be equal to the value of the article, substance, commodity or electric power manufactured, compounded or prepared for sale, as shown by the gross proceeds derived from the sale thereof by the manufacturer or person compounding or preparing the same, except as otherwise provided, multiplied by a rate of twenty one hundredths of one percent (.20%). The measure of this tax is the value of the entire product manufactured, compounded or prepared in the City for sale, profit or commercial use, regardless of the place of sale or the fact that deliveries may be made to points outside the City. However, the dressing and processing of food by a person, firm or corporation, which food is to be sold on a wholesale basis by such person, firm or corporation, shall not be considered as manufacturing or compounding, but the sale of these products on a wholesale basis shall be subject to the same tax as is imposed on the business of selling at wholesale as provided in subsection (b) hereof.
It is further provided, however, that in these instances in which the same person partially manufactures, compounds or prepares products within the City and partially manufactures, compounds or prepares such products outside of the City, the measure of his tax under this section shall be that proportion of the sale price of the product that the payroll cost of manufacturing within the City bears to the entire payroll cost of manufacturing the product; or, at the option of the taxpayer, the measure of his tax under ths section shall be the proportion of the sales value of the articles that the cost of operations in the City bears to the full cost of manufacture of the articles.
(b) Selling Tangible Property; Exception. Upon every person engaging or continuing within the City in the business of selling any tangible property whatsoever, real or personal, including the sale of food, and the services incident to the sale of food in hotels, restaurants, cafeterias, confectioneries and other public eating houses, except sales by any person engaging or continuing in the business of horticulture, agriculture or grazing, or of selling stocks, bonds or other evidences of indebtedness, there is likewise hereby levied, and shall be collected, a tax equivalent to twenty-four hundredths of one percent (.24%) of the gross income of the business except that in the business of selling at wholesale, the tax shall be equal to fourteen one hundredths of one percent (.14%) of the gross income of the business.
(9-30-83)
(c) Public Service or Utilities; Exemptions. Upon any person engaging or continuing within the City in any public service or utility business, except railroad, railroad cars, express, pipeline, telephone or telegraph companies, water carriers by steamboat or steamship and motor carriers, there is hereby levied taxes on account of the business engaged in equal to the gross income of the business multiplied by the respective rates as follows: natural gas companies, two and five one hundredths percent (2.05%) on the gross income; toll bridge companies, one and five hundred eighty-eight thousandths percent (1.588%); water companies, one and six hundred twenty-eight thousandths percent (1.628%); electric light and power companies, two and thirty one hundredths percent (2.30%) on all sales and demand charges for commercial lighting, domestic purposes, and any and all other purposes; and upon all other public service or utility business, two percent (2%). The tax under this section includes only gross income received from the supplying of public services. The gross income of the taxpayer from any other activity shall be included in the measure of the tax imposed upon the appropriate sections of this article. Municipality owned plants coming within the definition provided in this section are exempt from the taxation provided herein. (11-18-83)
(d) Contracting. Upon every person engaging or continuing within the City in the business of contracting, the tax shall be equal to seventy-four hundredths of one percent (.74%) of the gross income of the business derived from contracts entered into prior to April 1, 1971; and one percent (1%) of the gross income of the business derived from contracts entered into on or after April 1, 1971.
(e) Operating Amusements. Upon every person engaging or continuing within the City in the business of operating a theater, opera house, moving picture show, vaudeville, amusement park, dance hall, skating rink, race track, radio broadcasting station, or any other place at which amusements are offered to the public, the tax shall be equal to fifty one-hundredths of one percent (.50%) of the gross income of the business.
(f) Business or Calling Not Otherwise Specifically Taxed. Upon every person engaging or continuing within the City in any service business or calling not otherwise specifically taxed under this law, there is hereby levied a tax equal to fifty one hundredths of one percent (.50%) of the gross income of any such business.
(g) Furnishing Property for Hire. Upon every person engaging or continuing within the City in the business of furnishing any real or tangible personal property, which has a tax situs in the City, or any interest therein for hire, loan, lease or otherwise, whether the return be in the form of rentals, royalties, fees or otherwise, the tax shall be equal to fifty-five one-hundredths of one percent (.55%) of the gross income of any such activity. The term "tangible personal property," as used herein, shall not include money or public securities.
(h) Severance, Extraction and Production of Coal and Other Natural Resource Products. Upon every person exercising the privilege of engaging or continuing within the City in the business of severing, extracting, reducing to possession and producing for sale, profit or commercial use any natural resource products, the amount of such tax to be equal to the value of the articles produced as shown by the gross proceeds derived from the sale thereof by the producer, except as otherwise provided, multiplied by the respective rates and in the classifications as follows:
(1) Coal, one percent (1%).
(2) Sand, gravel or other mineral product not quarried or mined, one and six hundred six thousandths percent (1.606%).
(3) Oil or blast furnace slag, one and six hundred six thousandths percent (1.606%).
(4) Natural gas, in excess of the value of five thousand dollars ($5,000), three and one hundred ninety-four thousandths percent (3.194%).
(5) Limestone or sandstone, quarried or mined, eight hundred fourteen thousandths of one percent (.814%).
(6) Timber produced prior to April 1, 1982, eight hundred fourteen thousandths of one percent (.814%), and timber produced on or after April 1, 1982, nine hundred twenty-five thousandths of one percent (.925%).
(7) Other natural resources products, one and fifty-nine thousandths percent (1.059%).
This section is to be interpreted and enforced in accordance with West Virginia Code 11-13-2a, as well as all other applicable provisions of West Virginia Code Chapter 11 and Article 11-13.
(i) Banking or Finance. Upon every person engaging or continuing within the City in the business of banking or financial business, from and after April 1, 1971 the tax shall be equal to sixty one hundredths of one percent (.60%) of the gross income received from interest, premiums, discounts, dividends, service fees or charges, commissions, fines, rents from real or tangible personal property, however denominated, royalties, charges for bookkeeping or data processing, receipts from check sales, charges or fees, and receipts from the sale of tangible personal property: Provided, however, that gross income shall not include: interest received on the obligations of the United States, its agencies and instrumentalities; interest received on the obligations of any state, territory or possession of the United States, or any political subdivision of any of the foregoing or of the District of Columbia; or interest received on investments or loans primarily secured by first mortgages or deeds of trust on residential property occupied by nontransients.
Persons taxed pursuant to the provisions of this subsection shall not be taxed under subsections (a) to (h) hereof. (9-30-83; 4-13-04.)
(j) Persons Not Subject to Tax Enumerated. The provisions of this article shall not apply to:
(1) Insurance companies which pay the State a tax upon premiums; provided, that such exemption shall not extend to that part of the gross income of insurance companies which is received for the use of real property, other than property in which any such company maintains its office or offices, in this State, whether such income be in the form of rentals or royalties.
(2) Nonprofit cemetery companies organized and operated for the exclusive benefit of their members.
(3) Fraternal societies, organizations and associations organized and operated for the exclusive benefit of their members and not for profit; provided, however, that such exemption shall not extend to that part of the gross income arising from the sale of alcoholic liquor, food and related services, of such fraternal societies, organizations and associations which are licensed as private clubs under the provisions of West Virginia Code Article 60-7.
(4) Corporations, associations and societies organized and operated exclusively for religious or charitable purposes.
(5) Production credit association, organized under the provisions of the Federal "Farm Credit Act of 1933"; provided, however, that the exemptions of this subsection shall not apply to corporations or cooperative associations organized under the provisions of West Virginia Code Article 19-4.
(1967 Code Sec. 6-12)
(6) Credit Unions organized under the provisions of West Virginia Code Article 31-10. (9-30-83)
(k) Annual Exemption. Any taxpayer within the provisions of this article is hereby granted an annual exemption of fifteen dollars ($15.00), which amount is to be applied against any amount owed to the City as such business and occupation license and privilege tax computed using those rates set forth within this article.
(l) Manner of Payment. The taxes levied hereunder shall be due and payable in quarterly installments on or before the expiration of one months from the end of the quarter in which they accrue. The taxpayer shall, within one month from the expiration of each quarter, make out an estimate of the tax for which he is liable, for such quarter, sign the same and mail the same together with a remittance in the form required by the Collector and Treasurer of the amount of the tax to the office of the Collector and Treasurer. Any other provisions of this section notwithstanding, the Collector and Treasurer, if he deems it necessary to insure payment of the tax, may require the return and payment under this section for periods of shorter duration than quarter periods. (9-30-83)
(m) Filing Return; Remittance. On or before the expiration of one month after the end of the tax year, each taxpayer shall make a return for the entire tax year showing the gross proceeds of sales or gross income of business, trade or calling, and compute the amount of tax chargeable against him in accordance with the provisions of this article, and deduct the amount of quarterly payments, as hereinbefore provided, if any, and transmit with his report a remittance in the form required by the Collector and Treasurer, such remittance to be mailed to the office of the Collector and Treasurer. Such return shall be signed by the taxpayer, if made by an individual, or by the president, vice-president, secretary or treasurer of a corporation, if made on behalf of a corporation. If made on behalf of a partnership, association, joint adventure or any other club or combination acting as a unit, any individual delegated by such firm, copartnership, joint adventure, association, trust or any other club or combination acting as a unit, shall sign the return on behalf of the taxpayer. The Collector and Treasurer, for good cause shown, may extend the date for making the annual return on the application of any taxpayer and grant such reasonable additional time within which to make the same, as may, by him, be deemed advisable.
(n) Erroneous Computation. If the taxpayer makes any clerical error which shall be apparent on the face of the return in computing the tax assessable against him, the Collector and Treasurer shall correct such error or reassess the proper amount of taxes, and notify the taxpayer of his action by mailing to him promptly a copy of the corrected assessment, and any additional tax for which such taxpayer may be liable shall be paid within fifteen days after the receipt of such statement. If the amount already paid exceeds that which should have been paid on the basis of the tax so recomputed, the excess so paid shall be immediately refunded to the taxpayer upon the requisition of the Collector and Treasurer, who shall issue his warrant on the Treasurer, which shall be payable out of any funds available for the purpose. The taxpayer may, at his election, apply an overpayment credit to taxes subsequently accruing hereunder. (1967 Code Sec. 6-14, 6-15; Ord. 99-4. Passed 11-9-99.)
(o) Franchise Tax Credit.
(1) Taxpayers who qualify for a franchise tax credit on their West Virginia tax return and file such a return shall be entitled to a credit on their Wellsburg business and occupation tax return. The credit amount may not exceed twenty percent (20%) of the amount eligible on the West Virginia Franchise Return. The amount credited on the Wellsburg business and occupation tax return may not exceed fifty percent (50%) of the tax calculated on the City return.
(2) The amount eligible for use in the calculation of a Wellsburg business and occupation tax credit may only include investments and operations within the City of Wellsburg corporate limits. The taxpayer must submit such documentation necessary to verify the credit claimed as may be required by the City collector treasurer.
(3) This credit shall be effective for the tax year beginning on July 1, 2000. This section shall be effective upon passage. (Passed 1-9-01.)