HomeMy WebLinkAbout4397 OrdinanceORDINANCE NO. t.f<jq'7
AN ORDINANCE of the City of Pasco, Washington
Amending Pasco Municipal Code Section 5.04.010 "Definitions"
and Section 5.04.170 "Exemptions"
WHEREAS, the City of Pasco 's business license requirements, including fees, are adopted
in Chapter 5.04 PMC; and
WHEREAS, RCW 35.90 RCW requires the City to update its business license code by
January 1, 2019, to include a new definition of what constitutes "engaging in business " in the City
and licensing fee exemptions for certain businesses that do not maintain a place of business within
the City; and
WHEREAS, Chapter 5 .04 PMC includes classification of certain types of business license
and exemption that are no longer relevant or desired . NOW, THEREFORE,
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PASCO, WASHINGTON, DO ORDAIN
AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. That Section 5 .04.010 of the Pasco Municipal Code entitled "Definitions"
shall be and hereby is amended and shall read as follows:
5.04.010 DEFINITIONS.
A) "Business" means , unless otherwise exempted herein, all activities , occupations ,
services, tfades, pursuits or professions conducted located and/or engaged in within the City with
the object of gain, benefit, profit, or advantage , to the person or entity engaging in the same, or to
any person or class, directly or indirectly, for which a State of Washington business license is
required.. For the purpose of this Chapter, a business shall not include any qualifying religious ,
political, charitable or nonprofit activity, however, the same shall be subject to the provisions of
Chapter 5.07 of this title . Each business location within the City of Pasco shall be deemed a
separate business for the purpose of requiring a business license except those additional business
locations 1+Yithin the City which provide ancillary services to the pri-m.ary business activity, but do
not provide direct sale of services or products including, but not limited to, facilities utilized only
for storage, product preparation, maintenance or training.
B) "Business Licensing Service" or "BLS " means the office within the Washington
State Department of Revenue that administers the application and renewal of the City 's General
Business Licenses.
C) "City " means City of Pasco , Washington .
D) "Employee " means any person who performs work , labor , or services for a business
and is on the business payroll. The term "employee" also include s self-employed persons , sole
Ordinance Amending PMC 5 .04.010
and PMC 5.04.170 -1
proprietors, owners , managers, partners , and all full-time, part-time, and temporary employees on
the business payroll .
E) 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 section sets forth examples of actlv1t1es 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 section are illustrative only and are not intended to narrow the
definition of "engaging in business" in subsection (1). 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.
3) Without being all inclusive, any one of the following act1v1tles
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 superv1smg installation or
construction of, real or tangible personal property .
Ordinance Amending PMC 5 .04 .010
and PMC 5.04.170 - 2
(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, consultants, psychologists, court reporters, dentists, doctors,
detectives, laboratory operators, teachers, veterinarians .
(1) 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 .
Ordinance Amending PMC 5.04 .010
and PMC 5.04.170 - 3
(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 director 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. Such activities do not include
those in subsection ( 4).
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 .
.EB) "Licensee" shall include the applicant(s) for a business license or the holder thereof
for any use of period of time.
GF) "Outside area" means unenclosed areas used for selling, display, or storage.
HG) "Person" means any individual , partnership, joint venture, company, firm,
corporation, association, receiver, assignee, trustee, trust, estate, club , or any group of individuals
acting as a unit. Those engaged in the practice of a profession will be treated as any other person.
(Ord. 4372 , 2017; Ord. 3647 Sec. 1, 2003; Ord. 3569 Sec. 1, 2002; Ord. 2675 Sec. 1, 1988; prior
code Sec. 3-1.04.)
Section 2. That Section 5 .04.170 of the Pasco Municipal Code entitled "Exemptions"
shall be and hereby is amended and shall read as follows:
Ordinance Amending PMC 5.04 .010
and PMC 5 .04.170 - 4
5 .04.170 EXEMPTIONS . To th e extent set forth in this Chapter, the following
persons and businesses shall be exempt from the registration, license and/or license fee
requirements as outlined in this Chapter:
A) Monetary Threshold. 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 Two
Thousand Dollars ($2,000) and who does not maintain a place of business within the City shall be
exempt from the general business license requirements in this Chapter. The exemption does not
apply to regulatory license requirements or activities that require a specialized permit.
BA) Nonprofit Organizations . Nonprofit organizations operating without private profit,
either regularly or temporarily , for a public, charitable, educational , literary , fraternal or religious
purpose shall apply for a no fee business license at the City and conduct activities only after the
no fee business license has been issued . This no fee provision shall apply only to the nonprofit
organization but not persons sponsored by nonprofit organizations if any private profit whatsoever
is derived from its operation. Any business conducted where only a part of the proceeds go to a
nonprofit organization is not exempt from a business license fee. (Ord. 4380 , 2018 ; Ord . 4372 ,
2017 ; Ord . 3394 Sec. 1, 1999; Ord . 2619 , Sec . 1, 1986 ; Ord. 1907 Sec. 4 , 1977 ; prior code Sec . 3-
1.170 -3.1.206.)
Section 3. All remaining terms and conditions of Chapter 5.04 "Licenses Generall y"
not amended herein , shall remain in full force and effect.
Section 4. This Ordinance shall take full force and effect on January 1, 2019.
y the Ci tyJiou~ot!he City of Pasco , Washington , and approved as provided
_____ ,__ day of ()(]::/ .... LlJJ/!£ 2018 .
Matt Watkins , Mayor
tzh~ 'Daniela Erickson, City Clerk 'or/
Ordinance Amending PMC 5 .04 .010
and PMC 5 .04 .170 - 5
AP~VED AS TO FORM:
l. ~~
Leland B . Kerr, City Attorney