THE PEOPLE OF THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES DO ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:

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1 ORDINANCE NO. 1_. 8_1_8_' 5_~_, An ordinance amending Subsection (a) of Section and Subsections (a) and (b) of Section of the Los Angeles Municipal Code to clarify the periods for which businesses are liable for business taxes, without affecting other tax collection periods. THE PEOPLE OF THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES DO ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. Subsection (a) of Section of the Los Angeles Municipal Code is amended to read: (a) Delinquent Dates: Unless otherwise specifically provided for in other provisions of this Article, all business taxes required to be paid shall be deemed delinquent if not paid on or before or within the time prescribed in this Article: 1. Annual Business Taxes- on or before the close of business on the last day of the month following the month in which the tax is due. 2. Quarterly Business Taxes - on or before the close of business on the last day of the month in which the tax is due. 3. Monthly Business Taxes- on or before the close of business on the last day of the month for which the tax is due. 4. Daily Business Taxes- on or before the close of business on each day for which the tax is due. 5. Business Taxes Unpaid When a Business Has Been Discontinued, Dissolved or Otherwise Terminated- within 45 days of the termination of the business. 6. Deficiency Determinations -within 60 days of the date on which the Office of Finance provides notice of determination on an assessment or notice of the decision of an Assessment Review Officer, if applicable, or within 30 days of the date on which the Office of Finance provides notice of the decision of a Board of Review, whichever is later. Sec. 2. Subsections (a) and (b) of Section of the Los Angeles Municipal Code are hereby amended to read: (a) Assessment of taxes. (1) Whenever the Director of Finance determines that any tax is due or may be due to the City of Los Angeles under the provisions of this chapter, he or 1 /

2 she may at any time make and give notice of an assessment of such tax; however, the period during which the Director of Finance may make and give notice of an assessment of tax is limited as follows: (A) When a person timely files an application for a business tax registration certificate or business tax renewal form for a business subject to tax under Article I of Chapter 2 of this Code, the Director of Finance may make and give notice of an assessment of tax at any time within three years of the date on which such taxes were due under this Code; (B) When a person timely files an application for a business tax registration certificate or business tax renewal form for a business subject to tax under Article I of Chapter 2 of this Code, the Director of Finance may make and give notice of an assessment of tax at any time within six years of the date on which such taxes were due under this Code if there is a substantial understatement of the amount of tax due on the business tax registration certificate application or business tax renewal form. For purposes of this subsection: (i) The "tax due" on the business tax registration certificate application or business tax renewal form is the amount of tax properly due from the taxpayer for the period(s) encompassed by the business tax registration certificate application or business tax renewal form; (ii) A "substantial understatement" occurs when a taxpayer fails to report some of the tax due, and the omitted amount is 25% or more of the amount of tax reported in the business tax registration certificate application or business tax renewal form; (iii) The filing of an amended business tax registration certificate application or an amended business tax renewal form does not reduce the time period in which the Director of Finance may make an assessment under this subsection; (iv) The taxpayer's subjective or objective state of mind is irrelevant in determining whether a substantial understatement exists; (C) When a person files an untimely business tax registration certificate application or an untimely business tax renewal form for a business subject to tax under Article I of Chapter 2 of this Code, the Director of Finance may make and give notice of an assessment of tax at any time within three years of the date on which the untimely business tax registration certificate application or untimely business tax renewal form was filed; 2

3 (D) When a person makes a willful attempt in any manner to defeat or evade a tax imposed under Article I of Chapter 2 of this Code, including the filing of a false business tax registration certificate application or business tax renewal form or the filing of such a form with the willful intent to evade a tax, the Director of Finance may make and give notice of an assessment of tax at any time; (E) In all other circumstances, including the collection of any tax other than those set forth under Article I of Chapter 2 of this Code, the Director of Finance may make and give notice of an assessment at any time otherwise allowed by law; (F) If more than one of these circumstances applies, the Director of Finance shall have the longest applicable period in which to make and give notice of an assessment. (2) The notice of assessment shall separately set forth the amount of any tax known by the Director of Finance to be due or estimated by the Director of Finance, after full consideration of all information within his or her knowledge concerning the business and activities of the person assessed, to be due under each applicable section of this chapter and shall include the amount of any penalties or interest accrued on each amount to the date of the notice of assessment. (b) Service of assessment; right to hearing. The notice of assessment shall be served upon the person either by handing it to him personally, or by a deposit of the notice in the United States mail, postage prepaid thereon, addressed to the person at the address of the location of the business appearing on the face of the registration certificate issued to him or to such other address as he shall register with the Director of Finance for the purpose of receiving notices provided under this chapter; should the person have no registration certificate issued to him and should he have no address registered with the Director of Finance for such purpose, then to such person's last known address. For the purpose of this section, a service by mail is complete at the time of deposit in the United States mail. Within 45 days after the date of service, the person assessed may either apply in writing to the Director of Finance for a hearing on the assessment or may file a written request that such hearing be waived. If the person neither requests a hearing upon the assessment nor requests a waiver of hearing within the prescribed time, the amount of the assessment shall be final and the amount thereof shall immediately be due and owing to the City of Los Angeles, but penalties and interest as provided by this chapter shall continue to accrue until paid. 3

4 Sec. 3. The City Clerk shall certify to the passage of this ordinance and have it published in accordance with Council policy, either in a daily newspaper circulated in the City of Los Angeles or by posting for ten days in three public places in the City of Los Angeles: one copy on the bulletin board located at the Main Street entrance to the Los Angeles City Hall; one copy on the bulletin board located at the Main Street entrance to the Los Angeles City Hall East; and one copy on the bulletin board located at the Temple Street entrance to the Los Angeles County Hall of Records. I hereby certify that this ordinance was passed by the Council of the City of Los Angeles, at its meeting of AUG 1 9 zon JUNE LAGMAY, City Clerk DJ-1fL By Deputy Approved...c/l._U_G_2_4_~_0\_\ Approved as to Form and Legality Mayor Date 3 /d. )/ \ ) r t File No. \ 0 - d 39,'"] M:\Econ Dev_Pub Flnance\Public Finance\Dan Whitley\Ordlnances\LAMC and amendment v. 4.doc 4

5 DECLARATION OF POSTING ORDINANCE I, MARIA VIZCARRA, state as follows: I am, and was at all times hereinafter mentioned, a resident of the State of California, over the age of eighteen years, and a Deputy City Clerk of the City of Los Angeles, California. Ordinance No Amending Subsection (a) of Section and Subsections (a) and (b) of Section of the Los Angeles Municipal Code to clarify the periods for which businesses are liable for business taxes, without affecting other tax collection periods - a copy of which is hereto attached, was finally adopted by the Los Angeles City Council on August 19, 2011, and under the direction of said City Council and the City Clerk, pursuant to Section 251 of the Charter of the City of Los Angeles and Ordinance No , on August 25, 2011 I posted a true copy of said ordinance at each of the three public places located in the City of Los Angeles, California, as follows: 1) one copy on the bulletin board located at the Main Street entrance to the Los Angeles City Hall; 2) one copy on the bulletin board located at the Main Street entrance to the Los Angeles City Hall East; 3) one copy on the bulletin board located at the Temple Street entrance to the Los Angeles County Hall of Records. Copies of said ordinance were posted conspicuously beginning on August 25, 2011 and will be continuously posted for ten or more days. I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. Signed this 25th day of August 2011 at Los Angeles, California. Maria Vizcarra, Dep y C1ty Clerk Ordinance Effective Date: October 4, 2011 Council File No Rev. (2/21/06)