Chapter 4.02
General Provisions--Business Licenses and Registration
Sections:
4.02.030 Registration--Due date--Evidence of intent to enter into business.
4.02.040 Registration certificate--Fee--Application date--Renewal.
4.02.050 Registration certificate--Issuance--Term.
4.02.055 Tax-exempt or nonprofit status.
4.02.060 Penalty for violation.
4.02.010 Purpose.
Since it is found to be in the public interest that the city shall be at all times informed as to the individuals, partnerships, corporations or business entities of any form whatsoever which are conducting, maintaining, operating, or engaging in any business within the corporate limits of the city, it is declared that it is the purpose and intent of this chapter to require that all businesses, of whatsoever type, that engage in business within the Montesano corporate limits shall, at all times they so operate, obtain from the clerk-controller and be in possession of the business license established by Section 4.02.030. (Ord. 1618 §1 (part), 2018: Ord. 1005 §1, 1976).
4.02.020 Definitions.
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 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 section are illustrative only and are not intended to narrow the definition of "engaging in business" in subsection (1) of this section. 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 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 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. Such activities do not include those in subsection (4) 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. (Ord. 1618 §1 (part), 2018: Ord. 1005 §5, 1976).
4.02.030 Registration--Due date--Evidence of intent to enter into business.
Any business engaging in business as defined in Section 4.02.020 shall register with the city clerk-controller within sixty days of the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter. The registration shall be in such forms as may be established and/or determined and provided by the city clerk-controller. Any business established after the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter shall register within thirty days of the establishment of the business. The following actions shall be considered prima facie evidence of an intent to enter into a business, as the term is utilized in this chapter:
(1) To secure a location from which to conduct business;
(2) To establish a stock of merchandise;
(3) To commence advertising announcing the opening or establishment of a business. (Ord. 1618 §1 (part), 2018: Ord. 1005 §2, 1976).
4.02.040 Registration certificate--Fee--Application date--Renewal.
The annual fee for issuance of the registration certificate established by Section 4.02.050 shall be one hundred dollars, and shall be two hundred dollars for businesses who employ over ten employees. The certificate shall be valid for the calendar year in which it is issued and shall be renewed for each calendar year. Renewal applications shall be made prior to the end of the calendar year for which the current certificate is issued; provided, that in the event that the business will cease operations not later than January 5th of the following year, no such application for renewal need be made. The fee for an annual renewal shall be one hundred dollars for businesses who employ less than ten employees and two hundred dollars for businesses who employ over ten employees. The fee shall accompany the application, whether it is an initial application or an annual renewal application. (Ord. 1659 §1, 2023; Ord. 1618 §1 (part), 2018: Ord. 1460 §1, 2003: Ord. 1184, 1982: amendment to Ord. 1005, 1976: Ord. 1005 §3, 1976).
4.02.045 Exemption.
Threshold Exemption. To the extent set forth in this section, the following persons and businesses shall be exempt from the registration, license and/or license fee requirements as outlined in 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 two thousand dollars 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. (Ord. 1618 §1 (part), 2018).
4.02.050 Registration certificate--Issuance--Term.
Upon receipt and processing of an initial or renewal application, the city clerk-controller shall issue a certificate of registration in such form as he determines appropriate, which shall be posted in a conspicuous place in the place of business of the registrant. It shall be displayed upon request to the city clerk-controller or his or her designee. The certificate shall be valid for the calendar year designated thereon and is nontransferable. (Ord. 1618 §1 (part), 2018: Ord. 1005 §4, 1976).
4.02.055 Tax-exempt or nonprofit status.
(a) The provisions of the sections of this chapter shall not apply to any charitable, religious or nonprofit organization or corporation which either has received tax-exempt status under the Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3), 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3), as adopted or as hereafter amended; or is organized as a nonprofit corporation or association under the laws of the state and is properly so registered with the state.
(b) Any person or organization claiming an exemption as stated by subsection (a) of this section shall file with the clerk-controller of the city a copy of either the tax exemption granted by the Internal Revenue Service under the provisions of Section 501(c)(3) or proof from the appropriate registering agent of its nonprofit status. The clerk-controller shall maintain a list of all organizations who have claimed such an exemption and such list shall be kept available for public inspection. In the event that
the clerk-controller finds that the claim is improper, notice shall be given to the applicant, who shall have a right to appeal the denial to the city council in a manner established by Section 4.52.050. To the extent allowed by law, the decision of the city council at such hearing shall be final, and there shall be no appeal therefrom. (Ord. 1618 §1 (part), 2018: Ord. 1197 §1, 1983).
4.02.060 Penalty for violation.
It is unlawful to engage in any business as defined in Section 4.02.020 within the corporate limits of the city of Montesano except while in compliance with this chapter. Upon conviction of a violation of this chapter, punishment shall be imposed pursuant to the terms of Section 1.08.030. (Ord. 1618 §1 (part), 2018: Ord. 1005 §6, 1976).