542 OWN OF 'TAGS
ORDINANCES
YEAR:
NUMBER: � �•L
'Raw 9W
ORDINANCE NO.
F AN ORDINANCE RELATING TO OCCUPATION TAXES IN THE TOWN
OF TAOS, NEW MEXICO AND ESTABLISHING THE AMOUNTS OF
SAID OCCUPATION TAXES, PROVIDING FOR THE COLLECTION
AND ENFr r?CEMENT, THEREOF, THE DUTIES OF EAC-11 PERSON,
i'IRM, CORPORATION OR OTHER BUSINESS ASSOCIATION OR
ENTITY SUBJECT TO SAID OCCUPATION TAX AND FIXING
PENALTIES FOR THE VIOLATION THEREOF, REPEALING, SUCH
PARTS OF ORDINANCES AS ARE IN CONFLICT HEREWITH AND
DECLARING AN EAERGENCY.
WHEREAS, the Legislature of the State of New Mexico ennacted
Chapter 145 of the L zws of 1937, an act authorizing municipal corp-
orations to assess and collect occupation taxes, and therein and in
amendments thereto provided the machinery and method for the assess-
ment and collection of the same.
NOW, THEREFOP.E, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE TOW! COUNCIL OF THE TOWN
OF TAOS:
,Section 1. (a) That an occupation tax be, and is hereby imposed
upon the following occupations, professions, trades, pursuits, corp-
orations and establishments: telegraph companies, motor bus companies,
heating companies, railway express companies, ,gas companies, lawyers,
doctors, dentists, confectioners, photographers, undertakers, storage
and transfer houses, sales of unclaimed ,goods by express companies and
common carriers, power companies, cold storage and refrigeration com-
panies, manufactures, wholesale and retail merchants of all kinds,
commisuion merchants, coal dealers, lice dealers, lumber dealers, ice
cream dealers, milk dealers, livestock dealers, produce dealers, deal-
r:rs in goods and mares of every 1 ,nd and character, merchantile agencies,
real estate agents, claim agentfi, ad,usters, and collectors, financial
agents, rental agents, and agents and agencies of every kind and char-
acter, brokers of every kind mid character, abstractors of' land titles,
guarantors of land titles, bankers, banking corporations. trust comp-
anies, investment companies, building companies, loan companies, surety
companies, bonding companies, brokerage companies, newspaper publishers,
pub linhi.ng companies, publishing houses, printing establishments, elec-
trical supply companies, oil companies, mining companies, new and second-
hand automobile companies, automobile agencies, ,garages and repair shops,
manufacturing and other corporations, institutions or establishments,
and power companies, gasoline filling stations and on all occupations,
professions, trades, pursuits or corporations and other institutions
and establishments, utilities and businesses not heretofore enumerated
of whatever name or character, like or unlike.
(b) Definitions. As used in this Ordinance:
Z. "Person" means any person or persons, singular or
plural, male or female, natural or artificial, firm, corporation,
or other business association or entity engaging in any business,
profession, occupation, trade, or pursuit.
2. "Occupation" means every occupation, business, profession,
trade, pursuit, corporation, establishment or institution covered
by section Z (a) of this Ordinance.
3. "Engaging in" means operating, conducting, engaging in,
carrying on, or pursuing.
4. "Statement under oath" means the statement under oath of
gross volume of business done required to be filed by section 5
herein.
5. "Council" means the Town Council of the ^.awn of Taos.
6. "Tangible personal property" does not include any tangible
personal property which becomes or is incorporated into real property
prior to resale.
Section 2. The occupation tax herein imposed shalt be at the --
rates set forth below except that a Five Dollar ($5.00) minimum tax
shall be payable in any instance.
(a) At the rate of twenty-five cents per annum per thousand
for each one thousand dollars gross volume of sates of tangible person-
al property to another for resale purposes.
(b) At the rate of twenty-five cents per annum per thousand
for each one thousand dollars gross volume of sates of tangible person-
al property sold to another by manufactures, refiners, processors, fab-
ricators, bakers- and distitlors for resale purposes.
(c) At the rate of One Dollar per annum per thousand for each
one thousand dollars gross volume of sales of vehicles (as such terms,
with the exception of house trailers, is defined in SPc. 64-1-6 (a)
N.M.S.A., 1953 Compilation.) for the consumption or use by the purch-
aser.
(d) At the rate of One dollar per annum per thousand for each
one thousand dollars gross volume of business done by every person
engaging in the business of contracting, for the construction, recon-
struction, repair or improvement of any building, dwelling, or office,
as original contractor, subcontractor, or engaging or continuing in the
business of contracting for the construction, repair or improvement
of highways, bridges, dams, canals, public or private, excavation for
laying of pipe-lines, erection and repair of oil storage tanks, water
tanks, construction of railroads, railroad terminals, the drilling of
wells, oil weZle, sinking of shafts or driving of tunnels in mines,
excavation dirt work, or any other similar work or performance in
which a person covenants, bargains or agrees to perform said work for
a stipulated sum of money, or thing, of value or at a cost plus a per-
centage or additional sum.
(e) At the rate of One Do t Zar per annum per thousand for each
one thousand dollars ✓f all other gross volume of business done.
(f) At the rate of Five Hundred Dollars for Dispenser's Liquor
license, and Two Hundred nifty Dollars for ,?etailer's Liquor License
per annum.
Section 3. As used in this Ordinance "(gross Volume" or "gross
volume of business done" means all revenue or receipts whatsoever,
wherever obtained, including the revenue or receipts of minors. with-
out deductions except as set forth in this ordinance.
(a) Gross volume of business done wizen applicable to banking,
lending and financing institutions and businesses shall consist of
cross income derived from interest, service cha ges, exchange, dis-
counts, locker rentals and any other income derived from services ren-
dered or business conducted.
(b) The term "gross volume" shall not include the amount of any
allowance on sales price for a trade-in of tangible personal property
which in turn is held for resale, nor shall it include any proceec.'1s
arising from the sale by the taxpayer of his capital assets (as such
term is defined an) only when such proceeds are declared not taxable
as ordinary income by the U. S. Internal Revenue Act o.r 1954).
(c) Where good,3 or merchandise are transferred from one depart-
ment to another within the same business organization, both departments
being under the same ownership and such transactions are Zistec' as
bales for internal accounting purposes only, such sales shall be ex-
eZuded from the computation of vross volume.
(d) In the case of persons engaging in an occupation in the Town
or Taos and not having an v,''ice or other established place of _business
within the Town, the minimum shalt be ;25.00 or ;'1.09 per thousand of
gross volume, whichever of the two amounts is highest. Gross voZtarp
thereupon mail notice to such person of the amount 5f his assess-
ment and such person may protest the assessment so made at the time
and place of a hearing thereon before the T^!On Council.
(c) The occupation tax herein provided for shall be paid to
the Town. of Taos on or before the 30th day of April of each year and
where notice of the amount of assessment has been mailed by the Town
Clerk, the occupation tax herein provided for shall be paid within
fifteen days after the mailing of the notice of the time herein spec-
ified, then the Town Clerk, or her duty qualified assistant shalt there-
upon, as soon as may be convenient, file a complaint before the Muni-
cipal Court of the Town of Taos and shall take such other action under
this ordinance as may be necessary to collect the tax.
(d) Upon the payment of the occupation tax herein set ,forth,
the Town Clerk shall issue a license to all persons paying such tax.
No person shall be entitled to receive such license until such person
has secured a tax registration number from the State Bureau of P:evenue
as more particularly set forth under the terms and provisions of Map-
ter Z44, New Mexico Session Laws 196Z. Provided, however, fai Zure to
secure such registration number from the Bureau of Revenue, State of
New Mexico by any such person shall not relieve such person from the
payment of the occupation tax hereunder but such person shall pay such
tax and shall not be issued cn occupation License by the Town of Taos
until thin subsection has been Putty complied with.
Section 6. Except in accordance with judicial order or as other-
wise herein provided, the T", i of Taos, its agents, clerks, and employ-
ees shall not divulge any information gained by it from any statement
or return filed under the provisions of this act. The officials charg-
ed with the custody of such statements and returns shall not be requir-
ed to produce any of them or evidence of anything contained in them
in any action or proceedings under the provisions of this act to which
it is a party, or on behalf of any party to any action or proceeding
undE:r the provisions of this ordinance when the report of facts shown
thereby are directly involved in such action or proceeding, in either
of which events the court may require the production of any and may
adm7 t in evidence so much of said reports or of the facts shown there-
by as are pertinent to the action or proceedings and no more. r'otning
shaZl include onty that gross voZww derived from the sale of goods
or services within the limits of the Torn of Taos subject to the min-
imum fee.
Section 4. There are excepted from payment of the occupation
tax the following pursuits or sources of income:
(a) A person paying a license fee under any ordinance ennacted
under the authority of Sec. Z4-42-8, N.M.S.A., 1953 Compi Zation, pro-
vided, however, that such portion of his gross volume of business done
that arises from the sales of goods or services not specifically en-
umerated as taxable under such ordinance is subject to the occupation
tax.
(b) Persons paying a tax, fee or charge under some other ordi-
nance of the Town of Taos in which ordinance it is stated that such
tax, fee or exchange is in lieu of the occupation tax or of all taxes.
(e) Even] natural person of the age of seventeen (Z7) nears or
under, whose gross volume per annum of business done is less than Five
Hundred Dollars ($500.00).
(d) All persons or amounts of gross volume the taxing of whom
or which by the .Town would offend the constitution or laws of the
United States of America or of the State of New ,"lexico.
Section 5. (a) No person shaZZ engare in an occupation without
first paying a license -ree of $10.00; such person shall rirst apply
to the Town of Taos, New l•lexico on the appropriate application form.
The license fee shall not exempt any person, firm or corporation from
paying the occupation tax for the remainder of the year in which the
business was opened or started. Any and all persons, firms or corp-
orations doing business within the Town of Taos shall further report,
on the form provided, the gross volume of business he has reported to
the State Bureau of ,revenue for the purposes of paying Pler,) Mexico State
Sales Tax for the preceding year. It shall be the duty of each person,
firm, or corporation in the Town of Taos to file on, or before April
30th of each year with the Town Clerk the statement under oath show-
ing the gross volume of business done by such person, firm, or corpor-
ation from January; tat to December 3Zst of the preceding year.
(b) If a person fails to file the statement under oath when re-
quired to do so by this ordinance, the Council shall ,fix his gross voZ-
ume of business using any information in its possession for the period
in respect to which such person has failed to file a return and the
Town Council shall assess the amount of tax due. The Town Clerk shall
herein contained shall be construed to prohibit the delivery to a
person or his duly authorized representative of a copy of any return,
statement or report filed in connection with his tax nor to prohibit
the publication of statistics so classified as to prevent the identi-
fication of particular reports, statements or- returns and items there-
of, or the inspection by the Town Attorney or other legal representative
of the Town of the report, statement or return of any person by or again-
st whom an action or proceeding is contemplated or has been instituted
under this ordinance. Reports, statements and returns shall be preserv-
ed for three years xnd thereafter until the Town Council orders them
destroyed. Any person violating any of the provisions of this action
shall be punished by a fine of not exceeding Three Hundred Dollars
($300.00) or by imprisonment not exceeding ninety (90) days or both.
Section 7. No action taken under the provisions of this ordinance
shall be construed as authorizing either the conduct or continuance of
any business in an unlawful manner or in an unlawful, location.
Section 8. Any person failing to file a true and correct state-
ment of gross volume of business done or to pay an occupation tax in
full by the due date thereof is declared to be delinquent and a penalty
of m&e per cent (Z%) of the amount of tax is hereby imposed upon such
delinquent person for each month or fraction thereof during which such
delinquency continues.
Section 9. It shall be an offence against this Ordinance for
any person, member of a Firm, agent or manager of a corporation to
file a false statement of the ,gross volume of business done the pre-
ceding year by such person, firm ov corporation.
Section Z0. Any person found guilty of violating any of the
provisions of this ordinance shall be fined not more than Three Hund-
red Dollars (.$300.00) or imprisoned for a period of not more than
ninety (90) days or both, and each day this ordinance is violated shall
constitute a separate. offense.
Section ZZ. The conviction and punishment of any person for a
violation of this ordinance shall not excuse or exempt auch person from
the payment of any occupation tax due or unpaid at the time of such
conviction and nothinaherein shall prevent a criminal prosecution of
any violation of the provisions of this ordinance. All remedies pre-
scribed or liens created hereunder or under the provisions of Chapter
U. Article 42, IJ.M.S.A., 2953 Comp., shall be cumulative and the use
of one or more remedies by the Town ehaZZ not bar the use of any other
remedy for the purpose of enforcing the provisions of this ordinance
or any liens created by Chapter 44, Article 42, N.M.S.A., 1953 Comp.
The occupation tax fixed by this ordinance shall be and constitutes
a Zien .4,favor of the Town of Taos upon the personal property of every
person used in connection with such person's occupation from the time
such occupation tax is fixed, and such lien shall be imposed, collect-
ed, enforced and paid as provided by the laws of New Mexico relating
to occupation tea; liens. No property of any person shall be exempt
from levy and sale on execution issued for the collection of a judg-
ment for any occupation tax imposed by this ordinance.
Section U. Each and every word, phrase, sentence, subsection
and section herein is hereby declared to be severable and if it be
found that any such word, phrase, sentence, subsection or section is
unconstitutional or void, the remainder of this ordinance shalt not
be affected thereby.
Section 13. Ordinance No. 504 is hereby repealed but this re-
pealing clause does not repeal any part of any ordinance imposing an-
other tax or license fee or any other tax.
Section 14. Emergency Clause. This Ordinance is hereby declared
to be an emergency measure on the ground of urgent public need and is
therefore to become effective immediately upon its passage and pub Zi-
eation as provided by law.
Pawed, Adopted, Signed and Approved This �i�day of
1965.
PJAYo
EST;
Town C r
(SEAL)