HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance No. 2018-011 Amending Arlington Municipal Code Chapter 5.2 Pertaining to Business Licenses ORDINANCE 2018 —011
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ARLINGTON, WASHINGTON, AMENDING
ARLINGTON MUNICIPAL CODE CHAPTER 5.28 RELATED TO BUSINESS LICENSES TO
COMPLY WITH EHB 2005
WHEREAS, the 2017 State Legislature passed Engrossed House Bill (EHB) 2005, now
codified as Chapter 35.90 RCW, requiring Washington Cities and Towns with business licenses to
create a model business license ordinance with a minimum threshold and a definition of
"engaging in business"; and
WHEREAS,the City staff recently reviewed the business licensing process and procedures
set forth in Arlington Municipal Code Chapter 5.28; and
WHEREAS, the City Council reasonably believes that adoption of this Ordinance is in
furtherance of the health, safety, and welfare of citizens of the city:
NOW,THEREFORE,THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ARLINGTON,
WASHINGTON, DO ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Section 5.28.040 Amended. Section 5.28.040 AMC is hereby amended to
add the following definitions to said section:
"City clerk" means the city clerk of the city of Arlington, or his/her designee.
"Engaging in Business" shall have the following meaning:
(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 minimus 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 activities conducted within
the City by a person, or its employee, agent, representative, independent contractor,
Ordinance No. 2018-011 1
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, 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.
Ordinance No. 2018-011 2
(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 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).
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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.
Section 2. Section 5.28.040 Amended. The definition of "person" in AMC 5.28.040
shall be amended to read as follows:
"Person" means one or more persons, corporations, partnerships, associations or
other entities, but shall not include employees of persons licensed pursuant to this
chapter.
Section 3. Section 5.28.055 AMC deleted. Section 5.28.055 Entitled "Businesses
outside city limits." is hereby deleted in its entirety.
Section 4. Section 5.28.060 AMC Amended. Section 5.28.060 Entitled "Exempt
businesses" is hereby amended to read as follows:
5.28.060. Exemptions. 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:
(a) 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 $2,000 (or
higher threshold as determined by city) 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.
(b) Farmers or gardeners occasionally selling their own unprocessed farm
products raised, grown, and sold exclusively upon lands owned or occupied by them;
(c) Garage sales conducted on residential premises in compliance with any
provisions of the city's land use code
(d) Any business which is owned and operated by a person under the age of
eighteen years, and which is exempt from federal income tax reporting;
(e) Any business which operates only as a temporary booth during approved
community celebrations and which is approved by the entity which has been
authorized to run said celebration.
(f) Nonprofit activities carried on by religious, charitable, benevolent,
fraternal or social organizations;
(g) Any instrumentality of the United States, state of Washington, or political
subdivision thereof with respect to the exercise of governmental functions.
Ordinance No. 2018-011 4
Section S. Corrections by City Clerk or Code Reviser. Upon approval of the City Attorney,
the City Clerk and the code reviser are authorized to make necessary corrections to this
ordinance, including the correction of clerical errors; references to other local, state or federal
laws, codes, rules, or regulations; or ordinance numbering and section/subsection numbering.
Section 6. Severability. If any one or more section, subsection, sentence, clause or
phrase of this ordinance, or its application to any person or circumstance, is held to be
unconstitutional or invalid for any reason, or should any portion of this Ordinance be
preempted by state or federal law or regulation, such decision or preemption shall not affect
the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance or its application to other persons or
circumstances, and the same shall remain in full force and effect.
Section 7. Effective Date. The title of this ordinance which summarizes the contents
shall be published in the official newspaper of the City. The ordinance shall take effect and be
in full force five (5) days after the date of publication.
PASSED by the City Council of the City of Arlington and APPROVED by the Mayor this 3rd
day of December, 2018.
CITY OF ARLINGTON
Barbara Tolbert, Mayor
ATTEST:
Kristin nfield, City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Stev J iff , Cit �torney
Ordinance No. 2018-011 5
CERTIFICATION OF ORDINANCE
1, Kristin Banfield, being the duly appointed and City Clerk of the City of Arlington,
Washington, a municipal corporation, do hereby certify that the following Ordinance No. 2018-
011 was approved at the December 3, 2018 City Council meeting.
ORDINANCE NO. 2018-011
"AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ARLINGTON, WASHINGTON,
AMENDING ARLINGTON MUNICIPAL CODE CHAPTER 5.28 RELATED TO
BUSINESS LICENSES TO COMPLY WITH EHB 2005"
79
A true and correct copy of the original ordinance is attached.
Dated this 5th day of December, 2018.
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Kris 'n Ban ie
City Clerk for the City of Arlington