SEC. 21.06. SEPARATE REGISTRATION CERTIFICATE REQUIRED FOR EACH LOCATION AND EACH…

(a) Unless otherwise provided in this article, every person who engages in any business within this City which is subject to tax under the provisions of this article shall be deemed to be engaged in a separate business at each branch establishment or location at which the person engages in business and must obtain a separate registration certificate and pay a separate business tax for each classification of business engaged in at each location or branch establishment in the City at which or from which the business activities classified and subject to tax under the provisions of this article are carried on. Each registration certificate so obtained and the payment of the applicable tax for each such classification of business at each such location shall authorize the person named upon the certificate to engage only in the business specified at the location for which the certificate has been issued; provided that where business is engaged in from one or more locations outside the City, only one registration certificate for each classification of business need be issued to the person for engaging in that business in the City from all such outside locations; provided further, that warehouses and distributing plants located in the City used in connection with and incidental to a business for which a registration certificate has been issued to an address located within the City shall not be deemed to be branch establishments or separate locations. (Amended by Ord. No. 131,873, Eff. 3/31/66.)

(b) Whenever the business tax for a business imposed under the provisions of this article is measured by the number of vehicles, devices, machines, or other pieces of equipment used, or whenever the business tax is measured by the gross receipts from the operation of coin-operated machines, the Director of Finance shall issue only one registration certificate; provided that the Director of Finance shall issue for each tax period for which the business tax has been paid, one identifying sticker or symbol for each vehicle, device, machine or other piece of equipment included in the measure of the tax or for each coin-operated machine used in a business where the tax is measured by the gross receipts from such coin-operated machines.

(Added by Ord. No. 175,385, Eff. 9/14/03, Oper. 1/1/04.)

(a) When a person engages in a business that consists of two or more activities taxable on the basis of annual gross receipts and one of the activities generates at least 80% of the person’s annual taxable gross receipts, that person may elect on a yearly basis to have all of its taxable annual gross receipts reported and taxed at the rate applicable to the activity constituting at least 80% of annual taxable receipts.

Any business activities taxed other than on the basis of annual gross receipts shall not be combined with business activities taxed on the basis of annual gross receipts, and the receipts generated by the activities taxed other than on the basis of annual gross receipts shall continue to be taxed under the existing tax sections and shall be excluded in computing the 80% threshold.

The provisions of this section shall only apply to gross receipts generated by business activities conducted at or originating from the same location or as otherwise provided for under Section 21.06. All apportionments shall be made prior to electing the single primary tax classification using the appropriate apportionment formulas for each classification.

(b) Any tax deficiency or delinquency resulting from an election and payment made pursuant to Subsection (a) in which the primary tax category does not meet the 80% threshold shall accrue interest and penalties as set forth in Section 21.05 of this Article.