§ 16-202. Definitions.

As used in this article, the term:

Administrative fee means a component of an occupation tax which approximates the reasonable cost of handling and processing the occupation tax.

City or county means the City of Fitzgerald, Georgia.

Dominant line means the type of business, within a multiple-line business, which is the major and principal source of income of such business.

Employee means an individual whose work is performed under the direction and supervision of the employer and whose employer withholds FICA, federal income tax, or state income tax from such individual's compensation or whose employer issues to such individual, for purposes of documenting compensation, a form I.R.S. W-2, but not a form I.R.S. 1099.

Gross receipts means:

(1)

The total revenue of the business or practitioner for the period, including without limitation, the following:

a.

Total income without deduction for the cost of goods or expenses incurred;

b.

Gain from trading in stocks, bonds, capital assets, or instruments of indebtedness;

c.

Proceeds from commissions on the sale of property, goods, or services;

d.

Proceeds from fees for services rendered; and

e.

Proceeds from rent, interest, royalty, or dividend income.

(2)

Shall not include the following:

a.

Sales, use, or excise tax;

b.

Sales returns, allowances, and discounts;

c.

Interorganizational sales or transfers between or among the units of a parent-subsidiary controlled group of corporations, as defined by 26 U.S.C. section 1563 (a)(1), or between or among the units of a brother-sister controlled group of corporations, as defined by 26 U.S.C. section 1563 (a)(2), or between or among wholly owned partnerships or other wholly owned entities;

d.

Payments made to a subcontractor or an independent agent;

e.

Governmental and foundation grants, charitable contributions, or the interest income derived from such funds received by a nonprofit organization which employs salaried practitioners otherwise covered by this article, if such funds constitute eighty (80) percent or more of the organization's receipts; and

f.

Proceeds from sales to customers outside the state.

Location or office means and include any structure or vehicle where a business, profession, or occupation is conducted, but shall not include a temporary or construction work site which serves a single customer or project or a vehicle used for sales or delivery by a business or practitioner of a profession or occupation which has a location or office.

Occupation tax means a tax levied by a local government on persons, partnerships, corporations, or other entities for engaging in an occupation, profession, or business for revenue-raising purposes.

Regulatory fees means payments, whether designated as license fees, permit fees, or by another name, which are required by a local government as an exercise of its police power and as a part of or an aid to regulation of an occupation, profession, or business. The amount of a regulatory fee shall approximate the reasonable cost of the actual regulatory activity performed by the city. A regulatory fee may not include an administrative fee. Development impact fees as defined by O.C.G.A. § 36-71-2(8) or other costs or conditions of zoning or land development are not regulatory fees.

Person means and shall be held to include sole proprietors, corporations, partnerships, nonprofits, or any other form of business organization, but specifically excludes all nonprofit organizations.

Practitioner of profession or occupation means one who, by state law, requires state licensure regulating such profession or occupation as designated by O.C.G.A. § 48-13-9 (c), but shall not include a practitioner who is an employee of a business, if the business pays an occupation tax.

(Ord. No. 1222, 12-9-96)