Chapter 5.04
LICENSING PROCEDURES
Sections:
5.04.010 License required – Display.
5.04.015 Business license application.
5.04.016 Business license renewal – Penalties.
5.04.030 Expiration – Revocation conditions.
5.04.050 Prohibited activities.
5.04.001 Purpose.
This chapter provides requirements specific to the issuance of a city of Raymond business license. General requirements stated in this chapter are also applicable to other licenses issued by the city under other chapters of this or other titles of the Raymond Municipal Code unless specifically stated otherwise in such other respective chapters.
The city intends that all business activity in the city of Raymond be licensed and that business activities generating more than certain minimum amounts be taxed. (Ord. 1890, 2020)
5.04.005 Definitions.
“Business” means and includes all activities engaged in with the object of gain, benefit, or advantage to the taxpayer or to another person or class, directly or indirectly and whether conducted from a commercial or residential location within the city, or from a location found outside the limits of the city.
“Business Licensing Service” or “BLS” means the office within the Washington State Department of Revenue providing business licensing services to the city.
“City” means the city of Raymond, Washington.
Engaging in Business.
1. The term “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.
2. This definition sets forth examples of activities that constitute engaging in business in the city. It also 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 section are illustrative only and are not intended to narrow the definition of “engaging in business” in subsection (1) of this definition. If an activity is not listed, whether it constitutes engaging in business in the city shall be determined by considering all the facts, circumstances, and applicable law.
3. Without being all-inclusive, any one of the following activities conducted for business purposes 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 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, and 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.
4. 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.
5. 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 other than those listed in subsection (4) of this definition.
The city expressly intends that engaging in business includes 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. (Ord. 1890, 2020)
5.04.010 License required – Display.
Every person, firm, corporation, or other form of business organization must, before engaging in any business in the city, obtain a license to do so from the city, to be known as a business license.
If a person conducts business in multiple permanent locations in the city, the person must obtain a separate license for each such location as provided for in this chapter, provided only one license is required for each location regardless of multiple business activities conducted by the same person at a location. In the event two or more persons each conduct their own business at the same location, each such person must obtain their own license for their respective business.
When the place of business of a taxpayer is to be changed, the taxpayer must notify the Business Licensing Service sufficiently before the change to allow the city clerk to review and approve the location change prior to business being conducted at the new place of business. A change of location may require submitting a new application for a business license as provided for in this chapter. No person may engage in any business for which a business license is required under this chapter without being registered and licensed in compliance with the provisions of this chapter; nor may any person holding such business license allow any other person, for whom a separate license is required, to operate under or display his or her license.
For purposes of the business license required by this chapter, any person or business whose annual value of products, gross proceeds of sales, or gross income of business in the city is equal to or less than $2,000 and who does not maintain a place of business within the city must submit a business license registration and be licensed, but will not be charged a license fee. The threshold amount does not apply to regulatory license requirements or activities that require a specialized permit. (Ord. 1890, 2020)
5.04.015 Business license application.
Application for the business license provided for under this chapter is made through the Business Licensing Service (BLS). The application must include all information required for all licenses requested, as well as the total fees due for all licenses, including the application handling fee required by RCW 19.02.075. The application must be reviewed and approved by the town clerk in order for the license to be issued through BLS. Business may not be conducted within the city until the city business license has been approved and issued. (Ord. 1890, 2020)
5.04.016 Business license renewal – Penalties.
A. The city business license issued under this chapter expires on the date established by the Business Licensing Service (BLS), and must be renewed on or before that date in order to continue conducting business in the city.
B. The license renewal is submitted through BLS, and must include all information required to renew all licenses held, as well as the total fees due for all licenses being renewed, including the renewal application handling fee required by RCW 19.02.075.
C. The term of the city business license and respective city license fee may be prorated as necessary to synchronize the license expiration date with that of the business license account maintained by BLS.
D. Failure to complete the license renewal by the expiration date will incur the late renewal penalty required by RCW 19.02.085 in addition to all other fees due.
E. Failure to complete the renewal within 120 days after expiration will result in the cancellation of the city business license and will require submitting a new application for a business license as provided for in this chapter, in order to continue engaging in business in the city. (Ord. 1890, 2020)
5.04.020 License fee.
The city license fee is as follows:
|
• 1 to 10 full-time employees (FTE) |
$100 |
|
• More than 10 full-time employees (FTE) |
$200 |
|
• Business with annual value of products, gross proceeds of sales, or gross income of the business in the city equal to or less than $2,000 and does not maintain a place of business in the city |
No license required |
|
• Nonprofit businesses/organizations |
$0 |
FTE: Full-time employee equivalents are based on the total hours reported to the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries in the previous year for all paid employees, divided by 2,080 hours. Fractions must be rounded to the next nearest whole number, but in any event may not be counted as less than one FTE.
For businesses not maintaining a permanent place of business in the city, and for which the annual value of products, gross proceeds of sales, or gross income of the business in the city is greater than $2,000, the city license fee will be determined under the FTE calculation described in this section, provided only the employee hours worked inside the city will be counted in that calculation for the city business license fee. (Ord. 1903 § 1, 2021)
5.04.030 Expiration – Revocation conditions.
The business license issued under this chapter expires on the date established by the Business Licensing Service, and must be renewed on or before that date to continue engaging in business in the city. All other licenses issued by the city under other chapters of this or other titles of the Raymond Municipal Code expire on the thirty-first day of December of the year in which they were issued, or on another date as may be specified in such other chapters or titles. All licenses are subject to revocation for cause or for any violation of laws of the state or ordinances of the city. (Ord. 1890, 2020)
5.04.040 Violation – Penalty.
Violation of any of the provisions of this chapter is a gross misdemeanor. Any person convicted of a violation of this chapter may be punished by a fine not to exceed $1,000, imprisonment not to exceed one year, or both fine and imprisonment. Penalties or punishments provided in this chapter shall be in addition to all other penalties provided by law. (Ord. 1890, 2020)
5.04.050 Prohibited activities.
The city of Raymond shall deny any application for a business license upon written finding that: (A) the granting would be detrimental to public peace, health, or welfare; or (B) that such application for a business license is not in compliance with any applicable city regulation or the general laws of the state of Washington; or (C) if the license was procured by fraud or by false or misleading representation of fact in the application or in any report required to be filed with the city clerk. (Ord. 1890, 2020)