§ 15-32. Renewal returns and applications; due date; penalty for late payment.

(a)

On or before February 1, businesses subject to occupation taxes levied under this article for the preceding year shall file a signed application furnished by the department. The signed application must include the actual amount of the gross receipts of such business during the preceding calendar year ending December 31. Businesses that fail to file the signed application by February 1 will be subject to a one-hundred-dollar late fee. Businesses that fail to file the signed application by March 1 will be subject a three-hundred-dollar late fee. Businesses that fail to file the signed application by April 1 will be subject to a six-hundred-dollar late fee. Occupation taxes on all businesses who hold an alcohol license shall be required to be renewed, in conjunction with the alcohol license, no later than December 31 of each year.

(b)

Occupation taxes shall be considered delinquent if not paid by April 15 of each year (the "delinquency date"). Any businesses failing to pay the occupation taxes and administrative fees by the delinquency date shall be subject to and shall pay a ten-percent penalty of the amount of tax or fee due and interest as provided by section 2-112 and applicable provisions of state law. Such penalty shall be assessed in full on April 16 of the tax year in addition to interest on delinquent occupation taxes, regulatory fees and administrative fees.

Business License New and Renewal Timeline and Fee Structure
Category	Due Date	Interest	Penalty
New application	All year	None	None
Renewal (application)	February 1st	None	After Feb 1st	$100.00 total
			After Mar 1st	$300.00 total
			After Apr 1st	$600.00 total
Renewal (payment)	April 15th	1% (per month)	10%
Renewal (with Alcohol License)	December 31st (current year, along with alcohol renewal)	1% (per month)	10%

 

 Interest is assessed and accrues at the rate of one (1) percent per month for any businesses failing to pay by the due date (April 16 or January 1).

 A one-time, ten-percent penalty is assessed upon any business failing to pay by the due date (April 16 or January 1).

(c)

If any person or business whose duty it is to obtain a registration in the county begins to transact or offers to transact any kind of business after said registration or occupation tax becomes delinquent, such offender shall be assessed interest according to the rate as provided by state law and penalties under the provisions of county code and shall be punished as provided in section 1-10 of this Code.

(d)

On any new business begun in the county and not subject to payment of occupational taxes to DeKalb County, failure to register the name of the business and the line or lines of business that the business conducts shall be punished as provided in section 1-10 of this Code. Registration under this section is required for insuring business to be conducted complies with county codes or ordinances governing health, safety and other purposes.

(e)

Notwithstanding the foregoing, occupation taxes and administrative fees for lawyers shall be due and payable on December 31 of the year in which the tax is incurred. Any lawyer failing to pay the occupation tax and administrative fees by April 30 of the following year shall be considered delinquent and shall be subject to and shall pay a ten (10) percent penalty of the amount of tax or fee due and interest as provided by state law. Such penalty shall be assessed in full on May 1 of the year following the tax year in addition to interest on delinquent occupation taxes and administrative fees. In addition, a list of all delinquent lawyers may be sent to the State Bar of Georgia. Section 1-10 of this Code shall not apply to violations of this chapter by lawyers.

(f)

In addition to the above remedies, the department may obtain a lien for failure to pay taxes against the person so delinquent and against such person's property for the amount of the occupational tax required to be paid for the purpose of carrying on any of the businesses enumerated in this article.

( Ord. No. 18-05 , Pt. I, 10-23-18)