Chapter 5.02
BUSINESS LICENSES
Sections:
5.02.020 Business license required—Posting.
5.02.040 Application and renewal.
5.02.070 Exceptions—Applicability of provisions.
5.02.080 Business license—Rules for issuing.
5.02.090 Business license—Revocation.
5.02.110 License fee additional to others.
5.02.120 Sale or transfer of business.
5.02.010 Definitions.
The following definitions shall apply, except where otherwise declared or clearly apparent from their context:
A. “Business,” “occupation” or “pursuit” means and includes all home occupations, wholesalers, retailers, service providers, towing operators, peddlers, canvassers, solicitors, for-hire taxi or limousine carrier services, pawnbrokers, second-hand dealers and junk dealers engaged in activities with the object of economic gain, benefit or advantage to the person, firm or corporation, or to another person or class, directly or indirectly, whether part-time or full-time, whether resident or nonresident, except those businesses or activities for which licenses or franchises are required by any other chapter or section of the Rainier Municipal Code as now or hereafter enacted or amended.
B. “Business Licensing Service” or “BLS” means the office within the Washington State Department of Revenue providing business licensing services to the city.
C. “Canvasser,” “peddler,” or “solicitor” is defined as any individual, firm or corporation, whether resident of the city or not, traveling either by foot, automobile, truck, or any other type of conveyance, from place to place, from house to house, or from street to street, taking or attempting to take orders for the sale of goods, wares or merchandise, including books, periodicals and subscriptions, selling personal property of any nature whatsoever for immediate or future delivery, or for service to be furnished or performed immediately or in the future, whether or not such individual has, carries or exposes for sale a sample of the subject of such sale or whether he or she is collecting advance payments on such sales or not.
D. “City” means the city of Rainier.
E. “Clerk-treasurer” means the clerk-treasurer of the city of Rainier.
F. Corporation. See “Person.”
G. “Engaging in business” means commencing, conducting, or continuing in business, and also the exercise of corporate or franchise powers as well as liquidating a business when the liquidators thereof hold themselves out to the public as conducting such business.
1. This subsection (G) sets forth examples of activities that constitute engaging in business in the city, and establishes safe harbors for certain of those activities so that a person who meets the criteria may engage in de minimis business activities in the city without having to pay a business license fee. The activities listed in this subsection (G) are illustrative only and are not intended to narrow the definition of “engaging in business” in this subsection (G). If an activity is not listed, whether it constitutes engaging in business in the city shall be determined by considering all the facts and circumstances and applicable law.
2. Without being all-inclusive, any one of the following activities conducted within the city by a person, or its employee, agent, representative, independent contractor, broker or another acting on its behalf constitutes engaging in business and requires a person to register and obtain a business license.
a. Owning, renting, leasing, maintaining, or having the right to use, or using, tangible personal property, intangible personal property, or real property permanently or temporarily located in the city.
b. Owning, renting, leasing, using, or maintaining an office, place of business, or other establishment in the city.
c. Soliciting sales.
d. Making repairs or providing maintenance or service to real or tangible personal property, including warranty work and property maintenance.
e. Providing technical assistance or service, including quality control, product inspections, warranty work, or similar services on or in connection with tangible personal property sold by the person or on its behalf.
f. Installing, constructing, or supervising installation or construction of real or tangible personal property.
g. Soliciting, negotiating, or approving franchise, license, or other similar agreements.
h. Collecting current or delinquent accounts.
i. Picking up and transporting tangible personal property, solid waste, construction debris, or excavated materials.
j. Providing disinfecting and pest control services, employment and labor pool services, home nursing care, janitorial services, appraising, landscape architectural services, security system services, surveying, and real estate services including the listing of homes and managing of real property.
k. Rendering professional services such as those provided by accountants, architects, attorneys, auctioneers, consultants, engineers, professional athletes, barbers, baseball clubs and other sports organizations, chemists, psychologists, court reporters, dentists, doctors, detectives, laboratory operators, teachers, veterinarians.
l. Meeting with customers or potential customers, even when no sales or orders are solicited at the meetings.
m. Training or recruiting agents, representatives, independent contractors, brokers or others, domiciled or operating on a job in the city, acting on its behalf, or for customers or potential customers.
n. Investigating, resolving, or otherwise assisting in resolving customer complaints.
o. In-store stocking or manipulating products or goods, sold to and owned by a customer, regardless of where sale and delivery of the goods took place.
p. Delivering goods in vehicles owned, rented, leased, used, or maintained by the person or another acting on its behalf.
3. If a person, or its employee, agent, representative, independent contractor, broker, or another acting on the person’s behalf, engages in no other activities in or with the city but the following, it need not register and obtain a business license.
a. Meeting with suppliers of goods and services as a customer.
b. Meeting with government representatives in their official capacity, other than those performing contracting or purchasing functions.
c. Attending meetings, such as board meetings, retreats, seminars, and conferences, or other meetings wherein the person does not provide training in connection with tangible personal property sold by the person or on its behalf. This provision does not apply to any board of directors member or attendee engaging in business such as a member of a board of directors who attends a board meeting.
d. Renting tangible or intangible property as a customer when the property is not used in the city.
e. Attending, but not participating in, a “trade show” or “multiple vendor events.” Persons participating at a trade show shall review the city’s trade show or multiple vendor event ordinances.
f. Conducting advertising through the mail.
g. Soliciting sales by phone from a location outside the city.
4. A seller located outside the city merely delivering goods into the city by means of common carrier is not required to register and obtain a business license; provided, that it engages in no other business activities in the city. Such activities do not include those in subsection (G)(3) of this section.
The city expressly intends that engaging in business include any activity sufficient to establish nexus for purposes of applying the license fee under the law and the constitutions of the United States and the state of Washington. Nexus is presumed to continue as long as the taxpayer benefits from the activity that constituted the original nexus-generating contact or subsequent contacts.
H. Firm. See “Person.”
I. “For-hire vehicle” includes all vehicles used by a for-hire business for the transportation of passengers for compensation, except auto stages, buses, limousines, and ride share vehicles. The term primarily includes taxicabs.
J. “Limousine” means a vehicle operated at a contracted cost per hour or trip, and used for the transportation of passengers who have prearranged for their transportation through the business office of the limousine carrier business.
K. Occupation. See “Business.”
L. Peddler. See “Canvasser.”
M. “Person” means any natural person of any gender, firms, corporations, partnerships, cooperatives or associations either acting by themselves or by servant, agent or employee. The singular shall include the plural.
N. “Person,” “firm,” or “corporation,” used interchangeably in this chapter, means any individual, receiver, assignee, trustee in bankruptcy, trust, estate, firm, co-partnership, joint venture, club, company, joint stock company, business trust, corporation, association, canvasser, peddler, solicitor, society, or any group of individuals acting as a unit, whether mutual, cooperative, fraternal, nonprofit or otherwise, and includes the United States or any instrumentality thereof, for whom a valid business license may be required under the provisions of this chapter.
O. “Pursuit” means a person’s occupation or business activity for which a valid business license may be required under this chapter.
P. Solicitor. See “Canvasser.”
Q. “Towing operator” is anyone engaged in the business of offering towing service by use of a vehicle wrecker or by a vehicle adapted to that purpose, whereby motor vehicles are towed or are otherwise removed from the place where they are disabled. (Ord. 691 § 1, 2020; Ord. 518 § 2 (part), 2004)
5.02.020 Business license required—Posting.
A. It is unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to engage in any business, occupation or pursuit as defined in Section 5.02.010 in the city without first having obtained a business license therefor as provided in this chapter. The business license provided for in this chapter must be posted in a conspicuous location at the place of business for which it was issued.
B. A license issued under this chapter is nontransferable. No person to whom a license has been issued pursuant to this chapter may allow any other person for whom a separate license is required to operate under or display such license, nor may a person operate under or display another person’s license.
C. In case business is transacted at two or more separate places of business by one taxpayer, a separate license for each place at which business is transacted is required; however, for such additional license no additional fee is required. Each license will be numbered and show the name and place of business of the taxpayer. (Ord. 691 § 1, 2020; Ord. 518 § 2 (part), 2004)
5.02.040 Application and renewal.
A. Application for a business license is made to the Business Licensing Service (BLS), and must include all information required for all licenses requested, the fees for all licenses, and the handling fee required by RCW 19.02.075. The clerk-treasurer may request from the applicant other information not collected by BLS as may be needed to fully evaluate the application.
B. The business license expires on the date established by BLS, and must be renewed on or before that date to continue engaging in business in the city beyond that date.
1. Application for renewal of the license is made to BLS, and must include all information required for all licenses requested, the fees for all licenses, and the handling fee required by RCW 19.02.075.
2. The license term and respective fee amount may be prorated as necessary to synchronize the license expiration date with that of the business license account maintained by the BLS.
3. Failure to complete the renewal by the expiration date will incur the late renewal penalty required by RCW 19.02.085.
4. Failure to complete the renewal within one hundred twenty (120) days after the expiration date will result in the cancellation of the license, and have the effect of a revocation by the city clerk-treasurer under Section 5.02.090. Such cancellation will require submitting a new application as provided in this chapter to obtain a new license in order to continue to engage in business in the city. (Ord. 691 § 1, 2020; Ord. 518 § 2 (part), 2004)
5.02.060 Fee—City penalty.
A. The initial and renewal fees for the city’s business license for any business or activity required by this chapter to be licensed is thirty-five dollars ($35.00) for each year of operation, but may be prorated as provided in Section 5.02.040(B)(2).
B. In addition to the penalties described in Section 5.02.040, the city clerk-treasurer may also impose a city penalty for a late renewal, payable directly to the city, under the terms and amounts of:
1. One (1) to sixty (60) days late—five dollars ($5.00).
2. Sixty-one (61) to ninety (90) days late—ten dollars ($10.00).
3. Ninety-one (91) to one hundred twenty (120) days late—fifteen dollars ($15.00).
4. After one hundred twenty (120) days late, the license will be effectively revoked per Section 5.02.090, as provided in Section 5.02.040(B)(4). (Ord. 691 § 1, 2020; Ord. 518 § 2 (part), 2004)
5.02.070 Exceptions—Applicability of provisions.
Provisions of this chapter do not apply to, and/or are modified as described for the following:
A. The license fee for bona fide nonprofit organizations exempt from federal taxation under 26 U.S.C. Section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code is reduced to five dollars ($5.00) for each year of its business activity, provided the organization submits a copy of its letter of determination as proof of such tax exemption.
B. Religious organizations such as are deemed tax-exempt by the Internal Revenue Service under the provisions of 26 U.S.C. Section 501(c)(3), without the organization applying for or having a letter of determination issued, are fully exempt from the licensing requirements of this chapter when performing their core religious service. Should such religious organizations engage in other business activities beyond their core religious service they are fully liable for the license requirement for such other business activities.
C. The sales of daily or weekly newspapers, whether subscriptions are taken or not, or the dissemination of news or other not-for-profit information is exempt from the license requirement of this chapter.
D. Threshold Exemption. For purposes of the license required by this chapter, any person or business whose annual value of products, gross proceeds of sales, or gross income of the business in the city is equal to or less than four thousand dollars ($4,000) and who does not maintain a place of business within the city shall submit a business license registration to the director, or designee, but be exempt from the city license fee therefor. The threshold does not apply to regulatory license requirements or activities that require a specialized permit. (Ord. 691 § 1, 2020; Ord. 679 § 1 (part), 2019: Ord. 673 § 1 (part), 2018: Ord. 518 § 2 (part), 2004)
5.02.080 Business license—Rules for issuing.
A. All applicable business and occupation taxes and/or applicable penalties, and any overdue business license fee or applicable penalties, must be paid in full before a new license or renewal may be issued.
B. No business license shall be issued if the applicant has been given notice to abate an unsafe or unlawful condition, until the issue has been resolved.
C. No business license shall be issued if a variance is required, until it has been granted by the city council.
D. If any applicable taxes, license fees, or penalties are not paid at their final due date, the current business license may be suspended or revoked by the clerk-treasurer. (Ord. 518 § 2 (part), 2004)
5.02.090 Business license—Revocation.
The clerk-treasurer may revoke the license issued to any licensee who is in default in any payment of any license fee or penalty, or tax, beyond its final due date, or who fails to comply with any of the provisions of this chapter. A license shall be revoked if obtained by fraud. Notice of such revocation shall be mailed to the licensee by the clerk-treasurer and on and after the date thereof any such licensee who continues to engage in business shall be deemed to be operating without a license and shall be subject to any and all penalties provided in this chapter. (Ord. 518 § 2 (part), 2004)
5.02.100 Method of payment.
Any penalty payable directly to the city under this chapter must be paid to the clerk-treasurer by bank draft, certified check, cashier’s check, personal check or money order, or in cash. If payment is made by draft or check, the penalty will not be deemed paid unless the check or draft is honored in the usual course of business; nor will the acceptance of any sum by the clerk-treasurer be an acquittance or discharge of the amount due unless the payment is in the full and actual amount due. (Ord. 691 § 1, 2020; Ord. 518 § 2 (part), 2004)
5.02.110 License fee additional to others.
The city license fee levied in this chapter is additional to any license fee or tax imposed or levied under any other law or ordinance except as otherwise may be provided in this chapter. (Ord. 691 § 1, 2020; Ord. 518 § 2 (part), 2004)
5.02.120 Sale or transfer of business.
Upon the sale of any business on account of which a license is required by this chapter, the purchaser is responsible to obtain their own license for the acquired business, as provided in this chapter, and may be held liable for the payment of any license fee or penalty that is delinquent and owing from the previous owner before being allowed to commence business in the city under the acquired business. (Ord. 691 § 1, 2020; Ord. 518 § 2 (part), 2004)
5.02.130 Violation—Penalty.
A person and the officers of any firm or corporation violating or failing to comply with any provision of this chapter shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor in accord with RMC 1.08.020. (Ord. 606 § 1, 2012: Ord. 518 § 2 (part), 2004)