For the purpose of this article, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section:
(a) “Banking business”; “financial organization” means any bank, banking association, trust, company, industrial loan company, small loan company or licensee, building and loan association, savings and loan association, finance company, investment company, investment broker or dealer, as well as every person engaging or continuing within the city the business of making loans of money, credit, goods or things, in action, who because of such activity is required under the laws of the state to obtain a license from the commissioner of banking of the state, and any other similar business organization, at least ninety percent of the assets of which consists of intangible personal property and at least ninety percent of the gross receipts of which consists of dividends, interest and other charges derived from the use of money or credit.
(b) “Business” means all activities engaged in or caused to be engaged in with the object of gain or economic benefit, either direct or indirect. "Business" shall not include a casual sale by a person who is not engaged in the business of selling the type of property involved in such casual sale. "Business" shall include the production of natural resources or manufactured products which are used or consumed by the producer or manufacturer and shall include the activities of a banking business or financial organization.
(c) “Company”; “person” means the term "person" or the term "company", herein used interchangeably, includes any individual, firm, copartnership, joint venture, association, corporation, trust, estate or any other group or combination acting as a unit, and the plural as well as the singular number, unless the intention to give a more limited meaning is disclosed by the context.
(d) “Contracting” means to include the furnishing of work, or both materials and work, in the fulfillment of a contract for the construction, alteration, repair, decoration or improvement of a new or existing building or structure, or any part thereof, or for the alteration, improvement or development of real property.
(e) “Prime contractor” means a person engaged in the business of performing for others, contracts for the construction, repairing, decorating or improving of new or existing buildings or other structures under, upon or above real property either for the work or for a specific portion thereof. The terms "prime contractor" and "subcontractor" include, but are not limited to, persons performing labor and services in respect to the moving of earth or clearing of land, razing or moving existing buildings or structures even though such services may not be done in connection with a contract involving the constructing, repairing, or altering of a new or existing building or structure.
(f) “Subcontractor” means a person engaged in the business of performing a like or similar service for persons other than consumers, either for the entire work or for a specific portion thereof.
(g) “Buildings” or “structures” means and includes, but is not limited to, everything artificially built up or composed of parts joined together in some definite manner and attached to real property. It includes not only buildings in the general and ordinary sense, but also tanks, fences, conduits, culverts, railroad tracks, overhead and underground transmission systems, tunnels, monuments, retaining walls, bridges, trestles, parking lots and pavement for foot or vehicular traffic.
(h) “Contracting”, “repairing”, “decorating” or “improving” means of a new part of an existing building or structure or any part thereof, in addition to its ordinary meaning includes, but is not limited to, the installing or attaching of any article of tangible personal property in or to real property, whether or not such personal property becomes a part of the realty by virtue of such installation.
(i) “Speculative builder” means and includes one who constructs improvements upon real property owned by him for sale or rental.
(j) “Fourth quarter” [return] will be construed to mean the annual return of business and occupation taxes where the context so requires in this section.
(k) “Gross income” means the gross receipts of the taxpayer, other than a banking or financial business, received as compensation for personal services and the gross receipts of the taxpayer derived from trade, business, commerce or sales and the value proceeding or accruing from the tangible property (real or personal) or service, or both, and all receipts by reason of the investment of the capital of the business engaged in, including rentals, royalties, fees, reimbursed costs or expenses or other emoluments, however designated, and including all interest, carrying charges, fees or other like income, however denominated, derived by the taxpayer from repetitive carrying of accounts, in the regular course and conduct of his business, and extension of credit in connection with the sale of any tangible personal property or service, and without any deduction on account of the cost of property sold, the cost of materials used, labor costs, taxes, royalties paid in cash or in kind or otherwise, interest or discount paid or any other expense whatsoever. "Gross income" of a banking or financial business is specified in Section 741.17.
(l) “Gross proceeds of sales” means the value, whether in money or other property, actually proceeding from the sale of tangible property, without any deduction on account of the cost of property sold or expenses of any kind.
(m) “Gross income” and “gross proceeds of sales” means shall not be construed to include:
(1) Cash discounts allowed and taken on sales;
(2) The proceeds of sale of goods, wares or merchandise returned by customers when the sale price is refunded either in cash or by credit;
(3) The amount allowed as "trade-in value" for any article accepted as part payment for any article sold;
(4) Excise taxes imposed by the state; or
(5) Money or other property received or held by a professional person for the sole use and benefit of a client or another person or money received by the taxpayer on behalf of a bank or other financial institution for repayment of a debt of another;
(6) Excise taxes imposed by the federal government upon the consumer, not manufacturer, and which are held in trust by the vendor as agent for the federal government.
(n) “Sale”; “sales, “selling” means any transfer of the ownership of or title to property, whether for money or in exchange for other property.
(o) “Selling at wholesale”; “wholesale sales” means:
(1) Sales of any tangible personal property for the purpose of resale in the form of tangible personal property;
(2) Sales of machinery, supplies or materials which are to be directly consumed or used by the purchaser in the conduct of any business or activity which is subject to the tax imposed by this article;
(3) Sales of any tangible personal property to the United State of America, its agencies and instrumentalities, or to the state of West Virginia, its institutions or its political subdivisions.
(p) “Selling at retail” means all sales other than wholesale sales are deemed to be retail sales. Sales to non-profit corporations are to be reported as retail sales.
(q) “Missionary representative means” a full/part time employee, agent, representative, or independent contractor who performs work in the municipality as a field sales promotional representative, public relations orientated representative, goodwill emissary, merchandising expert or some combination thereof. The function of these missionary representatives can be generally described as assisting retailers/wholesalers in the display and merchandising of taxpayer's products in stores or insuring that the retailers/wholesalers have an ample stock of fresh products for sale.
(r) “Service business or calling” means all activities engaged in by a person for other persons for a consideration, which involve the rendering of a service as distinguished from the sale of tangible property, but not including the services rendered by an employee to his employer. The term shall include, but not be limited to:
(1) Persons engaged in manufacturing, compounding or preparing for sale, profit or commercial use articles, substances or commodities which are owned by another or others;
(2) Persons engaged as independent contractors in producing natural resource products which are owned by another or others, as personal property, immediately after the same are severed, extracted, reduced to possession and produced; and
(3) The repetitive carrying of accounts, in the regular course and conduct of business, and extension of credit in connection with the sale of any tangible personal property or service.
(s) “Taxpayer” means any person liable for any tax hereunder.
(t) “Tax year”; “taxable year” means either the calendar year, or the taxpayer's fiscal year when permission is obtained from the city collector to use the same as the tax period in lieu of the calendar year.
(Ord. 2005-06-03. Passed 3-20-06.)