HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance-1980-0404INTRODUCED BY COUNCILMEMBER DAVIS
0 .i_)1'PNCE NO. 404
Series of 1980
TITLE: AN ORDINANCE REPEALING AND REENACTING SECTIONS OF
CHAPTER 21 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF WHEAT RIDGE
PERTAINING TO TAXES ON RETAIL SALES.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WHEAT RIDGE,
COLORADO:
Section 1. Section 21-1 of the Code of the City of Wheat Ridge,
Colorado, is hereby repealed and reenacted as follows:
Sec. 21-1. Definitions. As used herein, the following words
and phrases shall have the following meanings:
City. "City" means the City of Wheat Ridge, Colorado.
Sales Tax Inspector. "Sales Tax Inspector" shall mean the
City Treasurer or other person or persons designated by him,
and shall likewise refer to the Sales Tax Auditor.
Mobile Machinery. "Mobile Machinery" means those vehicles,
self-propelled or otherwise, which are not designed primarily
for the transportation of persons or cargo over the public
highways, and those motor vehicles which may have originally
been designed for the transportation of persons or cargo over
the public highways, and those motor vehicles which may have
originally been designed for transportation of persons or cargo,
but which have been redesigned or modified by the mounting
thereon of special equipment or machinery, and which may be
only incidentally operated or moved over the public highways.
This definition includes, but is not limited to wheeled vehicles
commonly used inthe construction, maintenance and repair of
roadways, the drilling of wells, and the digging of ditches.
Non-Resident Vendor. "Non-Resident Vendor" shall mean any
retailer/vendor whose place of business is located outside
the City of Wheat Ridge.
Person. "Person" shall mean any individual, firm, co-partner-
ship, joint venture, corporation, estate or trust, receiver,
trustee, assignee, lessee or any person acting in fiduciary
or representative capacity, whether appointed by court or
otherwise, and any group or combination acting as a group
and the plural as well as singular number.
Purchase Price. "Purchase Price" means the price or cost to
the user or consumer exclusive of any direct tax imposed by
the federal and state governments and those imposed by this
Article, inclusive of sales by exchange for property, less
the fair market value of property exchanged.
Retail Sale. "Retail Sale" means any sale, except sale for
resale, within the City. The phrases "retail sales",
"to engage in the business of sales at retail" and "on the
purchase price paid or charged upon all sales and purchases
of tangible personal property at retail within the City of
Wheat Ridge" as used in the sentence and paragraph structure
in this Article shall relate to Retail Sales as defined hereby.
ORDINANCE NO. 404
PACE TWO
Retailer-Vendor. "Retailer" and "Vendor" shall mean a person
doing a retail business, known to the trade and public as such,
and selling to the user or consumer, and not for resale.
Sale. "Sale" shall mean the exchange of property for property
as well as for money, including installment and credit sales,
conditional or otherwise, leases of personal property, and also
including the sale of electrical energy, natural and manu-
factured gas, telephone and telegraph communication service,
and carriage of televised visual and audio messages by wire
or cable.
Storage. "Storage" means the keeping or retention of, or
exercise of dominion or control over, or possession, for any
length of time, of tangible personal property under lease or
purchase at retail within or without the City from a vendor.
Tangible Personal Property. "Tangible Personal Property"
shall mean any corporeal personal property which is in any
manner perceptible to the senses.
Tax. "Tax" means the tax payable as provided inthis Article
by the purchaser of a commodity or service subject to tax,
or the aggregate amount of taxes due from the retailer or
vendor for taxable sales during a collection and reporting
period applicable as required herein.
Taxable Sale. "Taxable Sale" means the sale to the user or
consumer, exclusive of sales exempt as provided in this Article.
Taxpayer. "Taxpayer" means any person obligated to account
to the Treasurer for taxes collected or to be collected under
the terms of this Article.
Treasurer. "Treasurer" shall mean the City Treasurer, or his
designee, including, not by way of limitation, the Building
Inspector and the Sales Tax Auditor (formerly referred to as
the Sales Tax Inspector).
Use. "Use" means the exercise, for any length of time, by
any person within Wheat Ridge, of any right, power, or dominion
over tangible personal property by lease or purchase.
Wholesale Sale. "Wholesale Sale" means a sale by wholesalers
to retail merchants, jobbers, dealers, or other wholesalers
for resale and does not include a sale by wholesalers to users
or consumers not for resale; and the latter sales shall be
deemed retail sales, and subject to the provisions of this
ordinance.
Wholesaler. "Wholesaler" means a person doing a regular
organized wholesale or jobbing business, known to the trade
as such, selling to retailers.
Section 2. Section 21-2 of the Code of the City of Wheat Ridge,
Colorado, is hereby repealed and reenacted as follows:
Sec. 21-2. License - Required to engage in retail sales.
It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in the business
of retail sales within the City of [;'heat Ridge, Colorado, on and
after the effective date of this Article, without first having
obtained a license therefor, which license shall
ORDINANCE NO. 404
PAGE THREE
be granted at no charge and issued by the City Treasurer upon
the filing of an application in the form prescribed by the
Sales Tax Auditor. Such license shall be in force until
revoked or transferred as hereinafter provided. A license
shall be applied for and issued for each location if more
than one location is used by the applicant in the conduct of
business of sales at retail.
Section 3. Section 21-4 of the Code of the City of Wheat Ridge,
Colorado, is hereby amended by the addition of subsection (s) as
follows
(g) Machinery, machine tools and specific processing equipment
and repair parts and replacements thereof, exclusively and
directly used in manufacturing tangible personal property.
Section 4. Subsection (h) of Section 21-5 of the Code of the City
o Uheat Ridge, Colorado, is hereby repealed and reenacted as
follows:
(h) Every vendor selling items otherwise taxable, but exempted
by Colorado Revised Statutes 1973, Section 39-26-114(7),
as amended, for sale through vending machines shall none-
theless register all vending machines with the Treasurer
and pay the sales tax provided in Section 21-4 on all
property sold for a price of more than thirty cents in the
coin-operated vending machines, unless otherwise exempt by
law.
Section 4.1. Subsection (i) (6) of Section 21.5 of the Code of Laws
of the City of Wheat Ridge is hereby repealed and reenacted as
follows
(6) All sales by churches, clubs, lodges, parent-teacher organi-
zations or other religious, charitable or eleemosynary
organizations chartered by the State of Colorado as a non-
profit corporation, provided that such sales are conducted
for a period not to exceed 25 days during any calendar year
and that all funds derived from such sales are used for
the activities of the organization conducting the sale.
Section 5. Subsection (i) (7) of Section 21-5 of the Code of the City
of Wheat Ridge, Colorado, is hereby repealed and reenacted as
follows-
(7) Tangible personal property purchased or leased from a
vendor by a person engaged within the City of GTheat Ridge
in the business of manufacturing for wholesale sale or
compounding for wholesale sale, when such tangible personal
property is an article, substance or commodity which
becomes an ingredient or component part of the product
manufactured, which product is itself tangible personal
property, and the container, label, and shipping case thereof.
Section 6. Section 21-9 of the Code of the City of Wheat Ridge,
Colorado, is hereby repealed and reenacted as follows:
Sec. 21-9. Reports by vendor; payment of tax.
(a) Every Vendor shall be liable as a taxpayer and responsible for
the reporting to the Treasurer and paying the tax at the rate
of two percent (2°11) of the net total of taxable sales or charges
for service during the reporting period, plus any overage of
collections of tax on sales or charges for service resulting
from the use of the bracket system herein prescribed, less two
percent (2%) of such total of the two, to cover the taxpayer's
cost of collection and reporting. A reporting period shall be
the same period permitted by the State to a taxpayer for
reporting to the State and paying the Colorado State Sales Tax,
and such report shall be made and tax paid under the provisions
of this Article on or before the 20th day of the month
ORDINANCE NO. 404
PAGE FOUR
following the reporting period. A report shall be
made for each place of business if more than one location
is used in the business of sales at retail within the
City.
(b) All monies paid by the purchaser to the retailer as
taxes imposed by this Chapter shall be and remain the
property of the City of Wheat Ridge while in the hands
of the retailer. Until paid to the Treasurer, the
monies shall be held in trust by the retailer for the
sole use and benefit of the City of Wheat Ridge.
Failure by the retailer to pay the monies to the
Treasurer shall be a violation of this Code.
Section 7. Section 21-10 of the Code of the City of Wheat Ridge,
Colorado, is hereby repealed and reenacted as follows:
Sec. 21-10. Interest on deficiency; penalty.
The Treasurer shall, as soon as practical after receipt
of taxpayer's report recompute the tax by the use of
known and visible factors; and if the resulting recomputed
tax is less than that shown and paid by the taxpayer,
the difference shall be credited toward the taxpayer's
obligation for the next reporting period. If the
recomputed tax is more than that shown and paid by the
taxpayer, the difference shall be recorded as a deficiency
together with interest at the rate of one percent (lo) of
the amount of the tax which is deficient. The taxpayer
shall be notified of the deficiency, the amount thereof
and the interest thereon, in accordance with the procedures
of Section 21-18. Willful disregard of the requirements
for reporting, and remittance of tax due, or failing to
respond within ten days to Treasurer's notice of deficiency,
shall in addition to constituting a violation of this
Code of Laws, subject the taxpayer to a penalty of ten
percent (100) of the amount of the tax plus interest at
the rate of one percent (lo) per month or a fractional
part thereof, for a deficiency and interest as notified.
Section 8. Section 21-11 of the Code of the City of Wheat Ridge,
Colorado, is hereby repealed and reenacted as follows:
Sec. 21-11. Use Tax Property subject to tax.
It is hereby declared to be the legislative intent of
the City Council that for the purposes of this Article
every person who, on and after the effective date of this
Article, stores, uses, distributes or consumes within
the City any article of tangible personal property pur-
chased at retail, and not stored or distributed in the
normal function of wholesaling, is exercising a taxable
privilege and shall be taxed therefor at the rate
specified in Section 21-13 hereof. It is hereby declared
that every resident of the City or any person doing business
within the City who purchases or leases tangible personal
property for use, storage or consumption within the City
from sources outside the City and taxable hereunder, and
who has not paid the tax imposed by this Article, shall
make an application, file a return and pay the tax to
the Treasurer. The use, storage or consumption of
tangible personal property includes for the purpose of
this Article materials, commodities and items of
tangible personal property affixed to or made a part of
ORDINANCE NO. 404 PAGE FIVE
facilities and structures on real property owned or leased
situated within the City.
Section 9. Subsection (f) of Section 21-12 of the Code of the
City of Wheat Ridge, Colorado, is hereby repealed and reenacted
as follows:
(f) Tangible personal property purchased or leased from a
vendor by a person engaged within the City in the
business of manufacturing for wholesale sale or
compounding for wholesale sale, when such tangible
personal property is an article, substance or
commodity which becomes an ingredient or component
part of the product manufactured, which product
is itself tangible personal property, and the container,
label, and shipping case thereof.
Section 10. Section 21-13 of the Code of the City of Wheat Ridge
is hereby repealed and reenacted as follows:
Section 21-13. Same - Rate of Tax; date due; form of return;
no building permit or certificate of occupancy until paid;
penalty.
(a) Every purchaser, consumer, user, owner or lessee of per-
sonal property, and every owner or lessor of real
property, shall be taxed pursuant to the provisions of
Section 21-11 hereof at the rate of two percent (2%)
of the purchase price of any item of personal property
not made exempt from taxation pursuant to Section 21-12
hereof which is stored, used, distributed, or consumed
within the City.
(b) On or before the thirtieth day of the month following
the month of purchase of, or the month of commencement
of use or storage of, tangible personal property
which is taxable under the provisions of this Article,
every person or entity subject to, and liable for
payment of, the taxes hereby imposed shall complete
and return to the Treasurer, on a form prescribed by
and acceptable to the Treasurer, a schedule of personal
property subject to said tax, and shall at the same
time pay the tax imposed hereby.
(c) Upon the prior written approval of the Treasurer,
which shall be evidence by said Treasurer's signature
on an agreement endorsed by the taxoaver, any tax-
payer may file periodic reports and pay accrued taxes
at intervals not greater than once per year, in lieu
of reporting and payment of taxes upon the occurrence
of each taxable event.
(d) No building permit shall be issued to any person who
is purchasing, using, storing, or consuming materials
or other items, or who intends to purchase, use,
store or consume materials or other items, for the
purpose of building, adding onto, or otherwise
making improvements to any real property within the
City unless and until provision is made pursuant to
this subsection for the payment of the City of the
tax imposed hereby. Any person applying for any such
building permit shall elect to comply with, and shall
thereafter strictly comply with, either of the following
procedures:
ORDINANCE NO. 404
PAGE SIX
(1) Upon submission by a person of an applica-
tion for a building permit to the Building Inspector,
said Building Inspector shall, using the valuation
tables codified in Section 5-81 of this Code, estimate
the cost to complete said building or other improvements
for which said building permit is sought. Upon comple-
tion of said estimate, the applicant for said building
permit shall remit to the Building Inspector, as the
agent of the Treasurer, as the tax imposed hereby,
an amount equal to two percent of fifty percent of
the total estimated cost derived by the Building
Inspector. Upon payment of this sum by applicant
to the Building Inspector, applicant shall be entitled
to issuance of the applied for building permit;
provided, however, that upon completion of all improve-
ments by the applicant, applicant shall be entitled
to present to the Treasurer or the Building Inspector
receipts evidencing the retail value of the items
or materials purchased, used, consumed or stored,
and subject to taxation hereunder. In the event the
total tax thereby determined to be owed to the City is
less than the amount previously paid to the City to
allow issuance of the building permit, taxpayer shall
be entitled to a refund of the difference between the
amount previously paid and the amount subsequently
determined to be owed. In the event, however, the
tax so determined to be owed is greater than the amount
paid at the time of issuance of the building permit,
the taxpayer shall forthwith pay the additional tax
owed to the City;
(2) In the event an applicant desires not to pay
the estimated tax pursuant to the procedure provided
for in subpart (1) above, the following procedure shall
be followed: Upon submission by a person of an
application for a building permit to the Building
Inspector, said Building Inspector shall, as the agent
of the Treasurer, procure the signature of applicant
on a written agreement, prepared by and on a form accept-
able to the Treasurer, obligating applicant to comply
with the procedures of subsection (b) of this section
21-13, which agreement shall expressly provide for the
issuance of a stop-work order by the Building Inspector
upon failure of applicant/taxpayer to return the forms
and make the payments required hereby.
Notwithstanding any provision of this Code of
Laws to the contrary, no Certificate of Occupancy shall
be issued by the Building Inspector unless and until
all taxes imposed hereby have been received by the
City.
(e) Interest charges for deficiency and interest and penalty
charges for failure to report and pay the taxes as
prescribed in Section 21-10 hereof shall be likewise
applicable to the tax due under this Section 21-13.
Section 11. Subsection (b) of Section 21-14 of the Code of the
City of Wheat Ridge, Colorado is hereby repealed and reenacted
as follows:
(b) For purposes of this section, a non-resident vendor
engages in business in the City of Wheat Ridge when
selling, leasing, or conducting any activity in
connection therewith in the City for the use, storage,
ORDINANCE NO. 404
PAGE SEVEN
consumption, or distribution of taxable personal property
within the City. This term shall include, but not
be limited to:
(1) The maintaining, within the City, directly,
indirectly, or by a subsidiary, of an office, sales
room, warehouse, or other place of business.
(2) The soliciting, by salesmen, representatives
or agents of business from persons residing in the
City and by reason thereof, receiving orders there-
from.
(3) The purchasing or leasing of tangible personal
property by such persons residing in the City for use,
storage or consumption in the City, and the tangible
personal property so ordered, purchased, or leased
actually coming to rest for any length of time in the
City and becoming a part of the mass of property of
the City as a result thereof.
Section 12. Subsection (a) of Section 21-16 of the Code of the
City of Wheat Ridge, Colorado, is hereby repealed and reenacted
as follows:
(a) The burden of proving that any person is exempt from
taxation or any article of commodity is exempt under
the provisions of this Article, shall be upon the person
asserting the claim for exemption. It shall be the
duty of every person engaging or continuing in business
within the City or otherwise subject to the tax under
any provision of this Article or a person requiring a
license under Sec. 21-2 or 21-14 hereof to keep
and preserve suitable records of all sales and trans-
actions as may be necessary from time to time to deter-
mine the applicability of the provisions of this Article
thereto, and to keep such invoices, sales memoranda,
books and records for a period of three years; and they
shall be open at any time for examination by the Sales
Tax Inspector or his agents. Failure to keep and
preserve suitable records as required by this section
shall be a violation of this Code.
Section 13. Section 21-18of the Code of the City of Wheat Ridge,
Colorado, is hereby repealed and reenacted as follows:
Section 21-18.
Unpaid tax, a prior lien.
(a) Any sales or use tax imposed by this Article, together
with the interest and penalties herein provided and
the cost of collection which may be incurred by the
City, shall be and, until paid, remain a first and prior
lien upon:
(1) The goods, stock-in-trade, and business
fixtures of or used by any retailer under lease, title-
retaining contract or other contractural arrangement,
or
(2) The real and personal property owned or leased
by any person, and shall take precedence on all such
property over other claims and mortgages. Any new owner
ORDINANCE NO. 404
PAGE EIGHT
or successor of a business or stock-in-trade shall be
required to withhold sufficient of the purchase money,
if any, to cover the amount of tax due until such time
as the former owner shall produce a receipt from the
Treasurer showing the tax paid in full or a certificate
showing no taxes due. Anyone who takes title to or
possession of a business, fixtures, or stocks by
purchase, foreclosure or otherwise, takes same subject
to the lien for delinquent tax and shall be liable for
the payment thereof to the extent of the tax, interest,
penalties, and collection costs, but not to exceed
the value of the property so taken or acquired. Any
person who takes title to or possession of any real
property upon which a use tax is owed takes said
property subject to the lien for said delinquent tax
and shall be liable for payment thereof to the extent
of the tax, interest, penalties and collection costs.
(u) The lien provided herein may be foreclosed by seizing
under distraint warrant and selling so much of the
property covered by the lien as may be necessary to
discharge said lien. Such distraint warrant may be
issued by the Treasurer whenever the taxpayer or
vendor i s in default on the payment of sales or use
tax, interest and penalty, and may be served and
the goods or property subject to such liens seized
and sold by the Treasurer or any member of the Wheat
Ridge Police Department.
(c) Goods or property seized pursuant to distraint warrant
shall be sold at public auction after ten-days public
notice by publication not less than two times in a
newspaper of general circulation within the City.
Such goods or other property whether real or personal
may be redeemed by the taxpayer any time prior to sale
by paying such tax, penalty, and interest as is due,
together with such costs as have accrued from the
seizure and preparation for sale.
(d) In the event that the taxpayer disputes the tax
liability giving rise to a lien or lien and distraint
warrant, he shall file a written demand for an
administrative hearing and determination of tax
liability, which demand will stay the sale under
distraint warrant (until the conclusion of the
hearing). This demand shall include the name,
business address and license number of the taxpayer,
a copy of the notice sent by the City, the taxable
periods and the amounts of tax which are being
disputed, and a statement of the grounds upon which
the taxpayer bases his claim. Upon receipt of the
taxpayer's written demand, the City Treasurer shall
set the time and place for the hearing, to be held
as quickly as possible, and shall appoint as the
hearing officer any qualified person who has education
or experience in tax administration matters and who can
render a Droner decision. In the event that it is deter-
mined at the herrin;_ that the taxpayer's liability is less
than the amount in the possession of the Treasurer,
such excess shall be paid to the taxDaver forthwith.
Failure to demand an administrative hearing and deter-
mination of tax liability shall constitute a waiver of
the right to contest such liability, however, when
such determination is reauested, the final decision
ORDINANCE NO. 4.04 PAGE NINE
rendered therein shall be appealable to the district
court as provided by law.
Section 14. Section 21-19 of the Code of Laws of the City of
Wheat Ridge, Colorado, is hereby repealed and reenacted as follows:
Sec. 21-19. Refusal to report; estimate of tax; emergency
collection procedures.
(a) In the event any taxpayer:
(1) Refuses to report in accordance with the provision
of this Article;
(2) Fails to comply with the provisions of Section 21-
13 of this Article;
(3) Who is the seller of a business, fails to file
the report and remit the taxes required in
Section 21-17 of this Article;
(4) Intends to leave the City without paying any
taxes which are lawfully owed;
(5) Removes, or intends to remove, property subject
to tax hereunder from the City, or to sell any
such property with the intent to remove the
proceeds of sale from the City without paying
tax thereon; or
(6) Engages or intends to engage in any activity
which the Treasurer reasonably believes to
jeopardize collections of taxes authorized
hereunder,
thereby prohibiting the establishment by the Treasurer
of an accurate and exact amount of tax due, the
Treasurer may, in any reasonable manner possible,
estimate the amount of tax due, to which interest
at the rate of one percent per month from the date
the tax was due and a penalty of ten percent of the
amount of tax and interest shall be added.
(b) When an estimate of taxes is made, the Sales Tax
Inspector shall serve notice thereof on the taxpayer
by personal service, certified or registered mail,
or by leaving a copy with the person in charge at
the taxpayer's business establishment or last known
address. Unless the taxpayer files a written demand
for administrative hearing and determination of tax
liability, as provided in Section 21-18 hereof, within
ten days from the date of service of such notice,
he shall conclusively be deemed to have accepted the
estimate as a fair and accurate determination of his
tax obligation and shall thereby waive the right to
contest that determination. In the event that such
a hearing is held, the determination of the hearing
officer shall be reviewable in the district court in
accordance with law.
(c) In any other case wherein it appears that collection
of revenues from taxes lawfully imposed hereby is
in jeopardy, the Treasurer may immediately issue
demand for payment. Upon issuance of said demand
ORDINANCE NO. 404
PAGE TEN
for payment, the tax required therein shall be due
and payable, and the Treasurer may proceed forthwith
to collect said taxes by any lawful means, including,
not by way of limitation, filing of liens upon the
property subject to tax, issuance and execution of
distraint warrants, or filing of summons and complaint
in any competent court; provided, however, that collec-
tion under this Section 21-19 may be stayed upon the
provision by taxpayer to the Treasurer of such security
as, in the opinion of the Treasurer, shall be satis-
factory to insure payment to the City of all taxes
lawfully owed by taxpayer.
Section 15. Safety Clause. The City Council hereby finds,
determines, and declares that this ordinance is promulgated
under the general police power of the City of Wheat Ridge; that
it is promulgated for the health, safety, and welfare of the
public, and that this ordinance is necessary for the preservation
of health and safety and for the protection of public convenience
and welfare. The City Council further determines that the ordinance
bears a rational relation to these objectives.
Section 16. Severability. If any clause, sentence, paragraph,
or part of this ordinance or the application thereof to any
person or circumstances shall for any reason be adjudged by
a court of competent jurisdication invalid, such judgment shall
not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder of this ordinance
or its application to other persons or circumstances.
Section 17. This ordinance shall take effect 15 daysafter
final publication.
INTRODUCED, READ, AND ADOPTED on first reading by a vote of
8 to 0 on this 14th day of April , 1980,
ordered published in full in a newspaper of general circulation
in the City of Wheat Ridge and Public Hearing and consideration
on final passage set for April 28 1980, at
7:30 o'clock p .m., at Council Chambers, 7500 West 29th
Avenue, Wheat Ridge, Colorado.
Postponed to May 19, 1980 by vote of 8-0
REAb, ADOPTED, AND ORDERED PUBLISHED on second and final reading
by a vote of 6 to 2 this 19th day of May ,
1980.
SIGNED by the Mayor on this-22nd day of
1980.
Frank Stites, Mayor
ATTEST: c~ c)
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Caro Hampf, City Clerk -:r
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lst Publication Apri l 17, 1980 3 rn
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2nd Publication t1ay 29, 1980
llheat P.idge Sentinel w r,
Effective Date _ _ Time 13 1080
APPROVED AS TO FORM
BY OFFICE OF CITY ATTORNEY:
a