|
The following information represents part,
but not all of the City Code pertaining to Business License requirements.
For complete information, we invite you to contact the Business License
office at 843-918-1200. You also will want to check out our
Guide to Starting or Relocating a Business
for more information. A downloadable Business License Application, in Word
format, is available on the On-Line Forms
page. Sec. 11-21. Required:
Every person engaged in or intending to
engage in any calling, business, occupation or profession listed in the
rate classification index portion of this chapter, in whole or in part,
within the limits of the city is required to pay an annual license fee and
obtain a business license as provided in this article.
*State law reference-Municipal
authority to levy a business license tax, S.C. Code 1976, § 5-7-30.
Sec. 11-22. Definitions:
The following words, terms and phrases,
when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in
this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different
meaning:
Business means a calling,
occupation, profession, or activity engaged in with the object of gain,
benefit or advantage, either directly or indirectly. A charitable
organization shall be deemed a business unless the entire proceeds of its
operation are devoted to charitable purposes.
City means the City of Myrtle Beach.
Classification means that division
of businesses bv major groups subject to the same license rate as
determined by a calculated index of ability to pay, burden on services,
benefits, equalization of overall tax burden, relationships of services,
or other factors deemed appropriate by city council.
Gross income means the
total revenue of a business, received or accrued, for one calendar year
collected or to be collected by a business located within the city,
excepting therefrom income from business done wholly outside of the city
on which a license tax is paid to some other municipality or a county and
fully reported to the city. The gross income for business license purposes
may be verified by inspection of returns filed with the Internal Revenue
Service, the state tax commission for income tax purposes, or the state
insurance commission. In the case of brokers or agents, gross income shall
mean gross commissions retained. Gross income from interstate commerce
shall be included in the gross income for every business subject to a
business license tax.
License inspector means the city
finance director, or other person designated to administer this article.
Person means any individual, firm,
partnership, cooperative nonprofit membership, corporation, joint venture,
association, estate, trust, business trust, receiver, syndicate, holding
company or other group or combination acting as a unit, in the singular or
plural, and the agent or employee having charge or control of a business
in the absence of the principals.
Sec. 11-23. Purpose and duration:
The business license levied by this article
is for the purpose of providing such regulation as may be required by the
businesses subject thereto and for the purpose of raising revenue for the
general fund through a privilege tax. Each license shall be issued for one
fiscal year and shall expire on May 3 1. The provisions of this
article and the rates herein shall remain in effect from year to year as
amended by city council.
Sec. 11-24. License fee:
The required license fee shall be paid for
each business subject hereto according to the applicable rate
classification on or before June 1st in each year, except that license
fees for insurance companies and brokers for non-admitted insurers shall
be payable on or before May 31st in each year without penalty. A separate
license shall be required for each place of business and for each
classification or business conducted at one place. If gross income cannot
be separated for classifications at one location, the license fee shall be
computed on the combined gross income for the classification requiring the
highest rate. A license fee based on gross income shall be computed on the
gross income for the preceding calendar or fiscal year, and on a 12-month
projected income based on the monthly average for a business in operation
for less than one year. The fee for a new business shall be computed on
the estimated probable gross income stated in the license application for
the balance of the license year.
Sec. 11-25. Registration
required; contact information; proof of identity and employment eligibility
(a) The
owner, agent or legal representative of every business subject to this
article, whether listed in the classification index or not, shall register
the business and make application for a business license on or before the
due date of each year, except that a new business shall be required to have
a business license prior to operation within the city. Application shall be
on a form provided by the license inspector which shall contain the social
security number and/or the federal employer's identification number, the
business name as reported on the state or federal income tax return, and all
information about the applicant and the business deemed necessary to carry
out the purposes of this article by the license inspector.
(b) Specifically
in regards to the registration and/or application, the license inspector may
request the full and legal name, birthdate, gender, personal addresses and
contact information for any person, officer, landlord, tenant, property
owner, lessor, sublessor, or agent pertaining to the business, or any other
person who has ownership or financial interest in the business, or any other
person who has decisional or management input, consultation, oversight or
control of any portion of the business. In the case of a corporation, the
license inspector may additionally request the true and complete name of the
corporation, certified articles of incorporation, the incorporators, agents
of service, officers, the state or county of its incorporation and its
principal place of business.
(c) In
order to carry out the purposes of this article and upon demand of the
license inspector, the owner(s)/partners of a sole proprietorship or
partnership other than a registered limited liability partnership must be
able to verify identity and employment eligibility in order to receive or
maintain a business license. In order to prove identity and employment
eligibility, the owner(s)/partners must show one document from list A or one
document from list B and one document from list C. The documents must be
originals, not copies. The only exception is that one may use a certified
copy of a birth certificate.
List A
Documents That Establish Both Identity and
Employment Eligibility
U.S. Passport (unexpired or expired)
Certificate of U.S. Citizenship (INS Form N-560 or N-561)
Certificate of Naturalization (INS Form N-550 or N-570)
Unexpired Foreign passport with I-551 stamp or attached INS Form I-94
indicating unexpired employment authorization
Alien Registration Receipt Card with photograph (INS Form I-151 or I-551)
Unexpired Temporary Resident Card (INS Form I-688)
Unexpired Employment Authorization Card (INS Form I-688A)
Unexpired Reentry Permit (INS Form I-327)
Unexpired Refugee Travel Document (INS Form I-571)
Unexpired Employment Authorization Document issued by the INS which contains
a photograph (INS Form I-688B)
List B
Documents That Establish Identity
Driver's license or ID card issued by a state or outlying possession of the
United States provided it contains a photograph or information such as name,
date of birth, sex, height, eye color, and address
ID card issued by federal, state, or
local government agencies or entities provided it contains a photograph or
information such as name, date of birth, sex, height, eye color, and address
School ID card with a photograph
Voter's registration card
U.S. military card or draft record
Military dependent's ID card
U.S.. coast guard merchant mariner card
Native American tribal document
Driver's license issued by a Canadian government authority. Persons under
the age of 18 who cannot produce one of the above documents can substitute
one of the following:
School record or report card
Clinic, doctor, or hospital record
Day-care or nursery school record
List C
Documents That Establish Employment Eligibility
U.S. Social Security Card issued by the Social Security Administration
(other than a card stating that it is not valid for employment)
Certification of Birth Abroad issued by the Department of State (Form FS-545
or Form DS-1350)
Original or certified copy of a birth certificate issued by a state, county,
or municipal authority or outlying possession of the United States bearing
an official seal
Native American tribal document
U.S. Citizen ID Card (INS Form I-197)
ID Card for Use of Resident Citizen in the United States (INS Form I-179)
Unexpired Employment Authorization Document issued by the INS (other than
those included in List A)
(d) The applicant shall certify under oath that
the information given in the application is true, that the gross income is
accurately reported, or estimated for a new business, without any
unauthorized deductions, and that all assessments and personal property
taxes due and payable to the city have been paid. Insurance agents and
brokers shall report the name of each insurance company for which a policy
was issued and the total premiums collected for each company for each type
of insurance coverage on a form approved by the license inspector. An
insurance agent not employed by a company shall be licensed as a broker.
(e) As
a condition precedent for the issuance and continuing condition for renewal
of every business license, the owner, agent or legal representative shall
affirm under oath that the business will not employ any person who fails to
meet identity and employment eligibility requirements to work in the United
States of America.
(f) Each
business licensee, as a condition of issuance or renewal, must maintain full
and accurate contact information for responsible persons on a form provided
by the license inspector.
(g) Notwithstanding
any other provision of law pertaining to denial, suspension or revocation of
a business license, the failure to comply with any provision of this section
shall constitute grounds for denial, suspension or revocation of the
license.
Sec. 11-26. Deductions and exemptions:
No deductions from gross income shall be
made except income from business done wholly outside of the city on which
a license tax is paid to some other municipality or a county, or income
which cannot be taxed pursuant to state or federal law. The applicant
shall have the burden to establish the right to deduction by satisfactory
records and proof. No person shall be exempt from the requirements of this
article by reason of the lack of an established place of business within
the city, unless exempted by state or federal law. The license inspector
shall determine the appropriate classification for each business in
accordance with the latest issue of the U.S. Office of Management and
Budget Standard Industrial Classification Manual. No person shall be
exempt from this article by reason of the payment of any other tax, unless
exempted by state law, and no person shall be relieved of the liability
for the payment of any other tax by reason of the application of this
article. State and federal sales and excise taxes, escrowed funds, and
allowances given for trade-in vehicles are not deemed income and are
exempt from license calculations under this article.
Sec. 11-27. False application unlawful:
It shall be unlawful for any person subject
to the provisions of this article to make a false application for a
business license, or to give or file, or direct the giving or filing of
any false information with respect to the license or fee required by this
article.
Sec. 11-28. Display and transfer:
All persons shall display the license
issued to them on the original form provided by the license inspector in a
conspicuous place in the business establishment at the address shown on
the license. A transient or nonresident shall carry the license upon his
person or in a vehicle used in the business readily available for
inspection by any authorized agent of the city. A change of address must
be reported to the license inspector within ten days after removal of the
business to a new location and the license will be valid at the new
address upon written notification of the license inspector and compliance
with zoning and building codes. Failure to obtain the approval of the
license inspector for a change of address shall invalidate the license and
subject the licensee to prosecution for doing business without a license.
A business license shall not be transferable and a transfer of ownership
shall be considered a termination of the old business and the
establishment of a new business requiring a new business license, based on
old business income.
Sec. 11-29. Administration of article:
The license inspector shall administer the
provisions of this article, collect license fees, issue licenses, make or
initiate investigations and audits to insure compliance, initiate denial
or revocation procedures, report violations to the police department and
assist in prosecution of violators, produce forms, make reasonable
regulations relating to the administration of this article, and perform
such other duties as may be duly assigned.
Sec. 11-30. Inspection and audits:
For the purpose of enforcing the provisions
of this article the license inspector or other authorized agent of the
city is empowered to enter upon the premises of any person subject to this
article to make inspections, examine and audit books and records, and it
shall be unlawful for any such person to fail or refuse to make available
the necessary books and records. In the event an audit or inspection
reveals that false information has been filed by the licensee, the costs
of the audit shall be added to the correct license fee and late penalties
in addition to other penalties provided herein. Each day of failure to pay
the proper amount of license fee shall constitute a separate offense. The
license inspector shall make systematic inspections of all businesses
within the city to ensure compliance with the article. Records of
inspection and audits shall not be deemed public records, and the license
inspector shall not release the reported gross income of any person by
name without permission of the licensee, provided that statistics compiled
by classifications may be made public.
Sec. 11-31. Assessments:
When any person shall have failed to obtain
a business license or to furnish the information required by this article
or the license inspector, the license inspector shall proceed to examine
such records of the business or any other available records as may be
appropriate and to conduct such investigations and statistical surveys as
he may deem appropriate to assess a license tax and penalties as provided
in this article. A notice of assessment shall be served by certified mail
and an application for adjustment of the assessment may be made to the
license inspector within five days after the notice is mailed or the
assessment will become final. The license inspector shall establish by
regulation the procedure for hearing an application for adjustment of
assessment and issuing a notice of final assessment. A final assessment
may be appealed to city council only by payment in full of the assessment
under protest within five days and the filing of written notice of appeal
within ten days after payment pursuant to the provisions of this article
relating to appeals to city council.
Sec. 11-32. Delinquent license fees:
For nonpayment of all or any part of the
correct license fee, the license inspector shall levy and collect a late
penalty of five percent of the unpaid fee for each month or portion
thereof after the due date until paid; provided however, that the late
penalty to be collected for any one year's delinquent fee shall not exceed
30 percent of the fee due for that year. If any license fee shall remain
unpaid for 60 days after its due date, the license inspector shall issue
an execution which shall constitute a lien upon the property of the
licensee for the tax, penalties and costs of collection, and shall proceed
to collect in the same manner as prescribed by law for the collection of
other taxes.
Sec. 11-33. Notices:
The license inspector may, but shall not be
required to, mail written notices that license fees are due, but if
notices are not mailed there shall be published a notice of the due date
in a newspaper of general circulation within the city three times prior to
the due date in each year.
Sec. 11-34. Denial of license:
The license inspector shall deny a license
to an applicant when
(a) the
application is incomplete, contains a misrepresentation, false or
misleading statement, evasion or suppression of a material fact, or when
(b) the
activity for which a license is sought is unlawful or constitutes a public
nuisance, or when
(c) the
applicant has unpaid liens, taxes, fees or charges due and owning to the
city, or when
(d) the
applicant makes the application on behalf of a person, or uses or employs
a person who has ownership or financial interest in the business, or has
decisional or management input, consultation, oversight or control of any
portion of the business, and that person is engaging or has engaged in
conduct or business practices that would have provided grounds for
suspension or denial.
A decision of the license inspector shall be
subject to appeal to city council as herein provided. Denial shall be
written with reasons stated.
Sec. 11-35. Suspension or revocation of
license:
When the license inspector determines that:
(1) A license has been mistakenly or
improperly issued or issued contrary to law; or
(2) A licensee has breached any condition
upon which his license was issued or has failed to comply with the
provisions of this article; or
(3) A licensee has obtained a license
through a fraud, misrepresentation, a false or misleading statement,
evasion or suppression of a material fact in the license application; or
(4) A licensee has been convicted of an
offense under a law or ordinance regulating business, a crime involving
moral turpitude, or an unlawful sale of merchandise or prohibited goods;
or
(5) A licensee has engaged in an unlawful
activity or nuisance related to the business; the license inspector shall
give written notice to the licensee or the person in control of the
business within the city by personal service or certified mail that the
license is suspended pending a hearing before city council for the purpose
of determining whether the license should be revoked. The notice shall
state the time and place at which the hearing is to be held, which shall
be at a regular or special council meeting within 30 days from the date of
service of the notice. The notice shall contain a brief statement of the
reasons for suspension and proposed revocation and a copy of the
applicable provisions of this article.
Sec. 11-36. Appeals to city council:
(a) Any person aggrieved by a final
assessment or a denial of a business license by the license inspector may
appeal the decision to city council by written request stating the reasons
therefor filed with the license inspector within ten days after the
payment of the assessment under protest or notice of denial is received.
(b) An appeal or a hearing on revocation
shall be held by city council within 30 days after receipt of a request
for appeal or service of notice of suspension at a regular or special
meeting of which the applicant or licensee has been given written notice.
At such hearing all parties shall have the right to be represented by
counsel, to present testimony and evidence and to cross examine witnesses.
The proceedings shall be recorded and transcribed at the expense of the
party so requesting. The rules of evidence and procedure prescribed by
council shall govern the hearing. City council shall by majority vote of
members present render a written decision based on findings of fact and
the application of the standards herein which shall be served upon all
parties or their representatives and shall be final unless appealed to a
court of competent jurisdiction within ten days after service.
(c) No person shall be subject to a
prosecution for doing business without a license until the expiration of
ten days after notice of denial or revocation which is not appealed or
until after final judgment of a circuit court upholding denial or
revocation.
Sec. 11-37. Confidentiality:
Except in accordance with proper judicial
order or as otherwise provided by law, it shall be unlawful for any
official or employee to divulge or make known in any manner the amount of
income or any particulars set forth or disclosed in any report or return
required under this article. Nothing in this section shall be construed to
prohibit the publication of statistics so classified as to prevent the
identification of particular reports or returns.
Sec. 11-38. Violations:
Any person violating any provisions of this
article shall be deemed guilty of an offense and shall be subject to
punishment in accordance with section 1-9. Punishment for violation shall
not relieve the offender of liability for delinquent taxes, penalties and
costs provided for herein.
Rate schedules:
For specific Business License
classification and rate information, please contact any of the following:
MARY McDOWELL, Assistant Finance Director,
918-1175
KRISTI EVANS, Business License
Supervisor/Accountant, 918-1218
FRANKIE O'HARROW, Code Enforcement Officer, 918-1151
© Copyright 2004-09, The City of Myrtle Beach. All rights
reserved.
|
