Title
Gainesville's Business Tax (NB)
This item involves revisions to Gainesville's current Business Tax Ordinance for e-Gov streamlining.
Explanation
Staff is suggesting changes to the Business Tax Ordinance in order to accomplish the following goals:
-Increase the User-Friendliness of Online Renewals;
-Outline Procedures for Email Notifications of Taxpayers; and
-Strengthen and Clarify the Business Tax Ordinance.
The following clarifications/updates are needed in order to tighten the ordinance. Many of these changes are found in the ordinances of eight of our peer cities:
-Specify the information required from businesses and authorize the City Manager or
delegate to change required information over time in response to legal, regulatory and
technological changes;
-Clarify that it is the business owner's responsibility to report changes in required
information to the City in a timely fashion;
-Redefine the issuance of a tax receipt to include an online payment receipt;
-Clarify what constitutes evidence of doing business;
-Remove the requirement for businesses to publicly post their tax receipts so long as
they can be produced upon request of a governmental or regulatory agency;
-Clarify that the payment of a business tax and issuance of a receipt do not imply
compliance with any other relevant Municipal Code provisions;
-Clarify that tax awareness, tax payments and compliance with all other relevant
provisions of the Municipal Code are the responsibilities of the business owner or
the owner's agent, if any, in the case of non-resident owners;
-Remove the requirement that the Finance Director sign each business tax receipt; and
-Include electronic notification to the language on notification.
Fiscal Note
This is a revenue-neutral proposal.
Recommendation
The City Commission authorize the City Attorney to draft and the Clerk of the Commission to advertise the referenced changes to the Business Tax Ordinance...
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