§ 48-13-10 — Determining amount of occupation tax; criteria for classification of businesses and practitioners; administrative fee; exemptions or reduction in fees for economic development; election of tax by practitioner

(a) In determining the amount of occupation tax to be levied on an individual business or practitioner, local governments shall classify all businesses or practitioners by the same criterion or combination of criteria. To assure uniformity, each and every business and practitioner shall be classified by the same criterion or combination of criteria. The criteria used for classification shall be one or more than one of the following criteria: (1) The number of employees of the business or practitioner as computed on a full-time position basis or full-time position equivalent basis, provided that for the purposes of this computation an employee who works 40 hours or more weekly shall be considered a full-time employee and that the average weekly hours of employees who work less than 40 hours weekly shall be added and such sum shall be divided by 40 to produce full-time position equivalents; (2) Profitability ratio for the type of business, profession, or occupation as measured by nation-wide averages derived from statistics, classifications, or other information published by the United States Office of Management and Budget, the United States Internal Revenue Service, or successor agencies of the United States; (3) Gross receipts of the business or practitioner in combination with the profitability ratio for the type of business, profession, or occupation as measured by nation-wide averages derived from statistics, classifications, or other information published by the United States Office of Management and Budget, the United States Internal Revenue Service, or successor agencies of the United States; or (4) A flat fee classification which is applied uniformly to all businesses and practitioners of professions and occupations, so that each business or practitioner pays the same amount of tax for each office or location. (b) Local governments which classify businesses and practitioners by the criterion described in paragraph (3) of subsection (a) of this Code section are authorized but not required to limit the geographic area in which gross receipts shall be taxed to that local government's jurisdiction. (c) Local governments which classify by the criteria described in paragraph (2) or (3) of subsection (a) of this Code section shall rank the businesses and practitioners according to the profitability ratio described in paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of this Code section. After such ranking, the local government shall establish profitability classifications which do not overlap before setting one or more rates of taxation for each classification. Such local governments are not authorized to apply to any classification a rate of taxation greater than the rate applied to another classification which includes a business or practitioner with a higher profitability ratio, except that local governments are authorized but not required to apply different rates of taxation within the same profitability classification by dollar range of gross receipts. Local governments using such different rates of taxation within the same profitability classification shall use the same dollar ranges of gross receipts for each profitability classification and shall not apply to any business or practitioner a rate of taxation greater than the rate applied to the same dollar range of gross receipts in another classification which includes a business or practitioner with a higher profitability ratio. (d) Local governments which classify by the criterion described in paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of this Code section are authorized but not required to adopt more than one rate of taxation per employee. (e) The occupation tax may include an administrative fee. (f) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, local governments may by ordinance or resolution provide for an exemption or reduction in occupation tax or a credit against occupation tax owed to one or more types of businesses or practitioners of occupations or professions as part of a plan for economic development or attracting, encouraging, or maintaining selected types of businesses or practitioners of selected occupations or professions. Such exemptions or reductions in occupation tax shall not be arbitrary or capricious. (2) Exemptions or reductions in occupation tax pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection may include but shall not be limited to the following: (A) Absolute dollar amount limitations on the total amount of tax, either by criterion or combination of criteria used for classification or for businesses and practitioners, provided that a jurisdiction which provides an absolute dollar amount limitation on the total amount of tax shall levy and collect such maximum tax only once on each business entity or practitioner even if a business or practitioner has more than one office or location within the jurisdiction; (B) Tax credits for the retention or creation of jobs, or for jobs of a specific description, including but not limited to entry level jobs or jobs with compensation of a specified range; (C) Tax credits for other taxes paid to the local government, including but not limited to ad valorem taxes; (D) A tax exemption or a lower rate of taxation for sales to customers outside the jurisdiction of the local government; (E) A credit or rebate to businesses or practitioners who paid occupation taxes in the previous year; (F) A limitation on the dollar or percentage amount of increase in tax from a base year to a subsequent year, provided that the limitation is made applicable to new businesses or practitioners by imputing the gross receipts, profitability ratio, or number of employees of the subsequent year to the base year in calculating tax for the base year, tax for the subsequent year, and the increase in tax; and (G) A credit or reduction as an adjustment for seasonal fluctuations in the number of employees, other fluctuations in the number of employees, increases or decreases in the number of employees, or temporary employees. (g) Practitioners of professions and occupations who are listed in paragraphs (1) through (18) of subsection (c) of Code Section 48-13-9 shall elect as their entire occupation tax one of the following: (1) The occupation tax resulting from application of the other provisions of this article; or (2) A fee to be set by the local government, not to exceed $400.00 per practitioner who is licensed to provide the service, such tax to be paid at that practitioner's office or location; provided, however, that a practitioner paying according to this paragraph shall not be required to provide information to the local government relating to the gross receipts of the business or practitioner. (h) Notwithstanding any other provision in this article, any local government levying an occupation tax is authorized to request payment of such occupation tax from and accept payment from a partnership, corporation, or other business entity composed of practitioners subject to the election set out in subsection (g) of this Code section for each such practitioner.