§ 5.04.010 — Definitions

5.04.010 - Definitions.

For the purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall be defined as follows: A. Average number of employees. "Average number of employees" means the average number of persons employed daily in the person's business for the preceding period of one year and shall be determined by ascertaining the total number of hours of service performed by all employees during the preceding year, including paid leave, dividing the total number of hours of service by the full-time equivalent (2,080 hours). In computing the average number of employees, fractions of numbers shall be rounded to the nearest whole number with one-half or greater being rounded up and less than one-half being rounded down. B. Business. "Business" means and includes professions, trades, and occupations and all and every kind of calling whether or not carried on for profit. C. Business rentals. "Business rentals" means any business conducted or carried on by any person engaged in the business of renting or letting a building or structure of any kind, including, but not limited to, office buildings, warehouses, commercial spaces, office spaces and industrial spaces to a tenant for purposes other than dwelling, sleeping or lodging. 1. One or more business rental units on the same parcel or adjoining parcels shall be considered one place of business and one tax certificate must be obtained. 2. This definition shall not include cooperatively owned multiple business units wherein all units are individually owned and occupied by the owner of the unit. 3. All taxable business rental units shall be taxed on the basis of gross receipts, as provided for by Section 5.04.300.A.1, entitled Classification "A" Retail Sales. D. Certificate. "Certificate" means the business tax payment certificate issued to the taxpayer upon the payment of the business tax. The certificate does not authorize the person to conduct any lawful business in an illegal manner or to conduct within the City of Riverside the business for which the certificate has been issued without strictly complying with all the provisions of the ordinances of said City. The certificate does not constitute a permit to engage in business. It is the document issued upon the payment of the business tax. References to a license or business license in this chapter or other chapters of this Code shall be understood to refer to the business tax payment certificate. E. Collector. "Collector" means the Chief Financial Officer or other City officer charged with the administration of this chapter. References to License Collector or Tax Administrator shall be understood to refer to the Finance Director or their authorized representative. F. Conduct or carry on. "Conduct or carry on" means and includes the engaging in, carrying on, owning, maintaining, managing or operating any business, trade, art, profession, calling, employment, occupation, or any commercial, industrial or professional pursuit or vocation whether done as owner, or by means of an officer, agent, manager, employee, servant, lessee or otherwise, whether operating from a fixed location in the City or coming into the City from an outside location to engage in such activities. As to business conducted within the City, whether the business establishment is located within or outside the City, every such sale, service or other transaction shall be deemed to have occurred within the City for purposes of the business tax. G. Contractor. "Contractor" means every person conducting, carrying on or managing a business who is licensed as a contractor by the State of California and who undertakes to, or offers to undertake to, or purports to have the capacity to undertake to, or submits bids to, or does them self or by or through others, construct, alter, repair, add to, subtract from, improve, move, wreck, or demolish any building, highway, road, railroad, excavation or other structure, project, development or improvement or to do any part thereof, including the erection of scaffolding or other structures or works in conjunction therewith. 1. Any "contractor" as defined above conducting or carrying on the business of selling goods, wares or merchandise as a retailer or wholesaler, in addition to their contracting business shall, in addition to the contractor's business tax certificate provided herein, secure a certificate for such retail or wholesale business as required in the chapter. 2. The term "contractor" includes general engineering contractor, general building contractor, specialty contractor and subcontractor whether operating within the City or from outside the City with no fixed place of business in the City. 3. Any "contractor" as defined herein that possesses a current license, issued by the State of California, and such license bears an address located within the City, shall maintain a certificate at all times whether the contractor's work is located within the City or outside the City. H. Convalescent hospital. "Convalescent hospital" means a facility providing long-term nursing, dietary and other medical services to convalescents or invalids but not providing surgery or primary treatments such as are customarily provided in a hospital. Convalescent hospital includes nursing home and rest home, but does not include general or specialized hospital or residential care facility. A convalescent hospital must be licensed by the State. I. Employee. "Employee" means, in relation to a business, any and all owners, or members of the owner's family, partners, or associates or individuals, to whom the business pays a wage, all of whom shall be included in the computation of the average number of employees of the business. J. General services. "General services" means providing, maintaining or performing labor for benefit of another within the City; supplying some general demand for the benefit of another within the City and does not include professional services or other services enumerated in this chapter. K. Gross receipts. "Gross receipts" means and includes the total of amounts actually received or receivable from sales and the total amounts actually received or receivable for the performance of any act or service, of whatever nature it may be, for which a charge is made or credit allowed, whether or not such act or service is done as a part of or in connection with the sale of materials, goods, wares or merchandise. "Gross receipts" includes all receipts, cash, credits and property of any kind or nature, without any deduction therefrom on account of the cost of the property sold, the cost of materials used, labor or service costs, interest paid or payable, or losses or other expenses whatsoever; 1. A business established outside the City but maintaining a branch office within the City, or doing business within the City through an agent, broker or employee, shall report as gross receipts, its total sales or receipts attributable to the local branch office, local agent, broker or employee operating within the City; 2. Gross receipts for real estate brokers or agents, travel agents, insurance brokers, and bail bond brokers shall mean the total gross commissions. 3. The following shall be excluded from "gross receipts": a. Cash discounts allowed and taken on sales; b. Credit allowed on property accepted as part of the purchase price and which property may later be sold; c. Any tax required by law to be included in or added to the purchase price and collected from the consumer or purchaser; d. Such part of the sale price or property returned by purchasers upon rescission of the contract of sale as is refunded either in cash or by credit; e. Amounts collected for others where the business is acting as an agent or trustee to the extent that such amounts are paid to those for whom collected, provided the agent or trustee has furnished the Collector with the names and addresses of the others and the amounts paid to them; f. Receipts of refundable deposits, except that refundable deposits forfeited and taken into income of the business shall not be excluded; g. As to a real estate agent or broker, the sales price of real estate sold for the account of others except that portion which represents commission or other income to the agent or broker; h. As to a retail gasoline dealer, a portion of their receipts from the sale of motor vehicle fuels equal to the motor vehicle fuel license tax imposed by and previously paid under the provisions of Part 2 of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code of the State of California (Motor Vehicle Fuel Tax Law, § 7301 et seq.; i. As to a retail gasoline dealer, the special motor fuel tax imposed by Section 4041 of Title 26 of the United States Code if paid by the dealer or collected by them from the consumer or purchaser. L. Insurance agent. "Insurance agent" means any person, including bail bond agents, directly authorized by and on behalf of an insurer to transact insurance and bind the insurer in the execution of insurance policies. M. Insurance broker. "Insurance broker" means any person, including bail bond brokers, who, for compensation and on behalf of another person, transacts insurance other than life, with, but not on behalf of, an insurer. N. Location. "Location" means the place where the business is conducted whether at a single address or multiple addresses that are contiguous. If a business entity conducts business at two or more addresses which are not physically contiguous, each such noncontiguous address shall constitute a separate location. In the case of electronic transactions, the place where the seller is located is deemed the "location" for purposes of this chapter. O. Manufacturing. "Manufacturing" means the business of making, developing, assembling or packaging of any machines, devices, articles, things, commodities, goods, wares, merchandise, products, equipment, material or substances for sale or distribution to the public either at wholesale or retail. P. Peddler. "Peddler" means any person, whether an individual or representing a business entity, engaged in the act of peddling. Q. Peddling. "Peddling" means and includes traveling or going from place to place or from house to house within the City and peddling, hawking, vending or selling any goods, wares or merchandise carried or caused to be carried or conveyed by or with the person peddling, hawking, vending or selling the same. R. Person. "Person" means and includes all domestic and foreign corporations, associations, syndicates, joint stock corporations, partnerships of every kind, clubs, trusts, societies, and individuals transacting and carrying on any business in the City, other than as an employee. S. Professional services. "Professional services" means any person, including a professional corporation, wherever located, engaged in/or carrying on within the City any profession requiring compliancy with written and/or oral examination standards adopted by a branch of the state or federal government and/or requiring a certain amount of tenure with such branch of government; such professions to include but not be limited to: architect, attorney, accountant (all types), audiologist, chiropractor, clinical social worker, dentist, economist, engineer (all types), geologist, marriage, family and child counselor, mortician, optician, optometrist, osteopath, physician (all types),podiatrist, psychologist, registered nurse, speech pathologist, surveyor, veterinarian, etc. T. Residential rentals. "Residential rentals" means any business conducted or carried on by any person engaged in leasing, renting, subleasing, subletting, providing, exchanging or trading without loss of ownership or leasehold, any real property, dwelling, building, structure, premises or portion thereof, for the purpose of dwelling, sleeping, lodging, boarding or other such occupancy, accommodation or general residency. 1. Two or more single-family residential rental units and multiple-residential rental units of two or three units shall be taxed as one business using the property owner's physical address as the business address. 2. Four or more residential rental units on the same parcel or adjoining parcels shall be taxed as one business using the property owner's physical address as the business address. U. Sale. "Sale" means and includes the transfer, in any manner or by any means whatsoever, of title to property for a consideration; the serving of, supplying of, or furnishing for a consideration any property; and any transaction whereby the possession of property is transferred and the seller retains the title as security for the payment of the price. The foregoing shall not be deemed to exclude any transaction which is or which, in effect, results in a sale within the contemplation of law. V. Solicitor. "Solicitor" means any person, whether an individual or representing a business entity, who engages in the act of solicitation as described in Section 5.08.010 of this Municipal Code. W. Sworn statement. "Sworn statement" means an affidavit sworn to before a person authorized to take oaths, or a declaration or certification made under penalty of perjury. X. Wholesale sales. "Wholesale sales" means the sale of goods, wares or merchandise for the purpose of resale and there is no sale to the ultimate consumer.

(Ord. 7757, § 71, 2026; Ord. 7663, § 1, 2024; Ord. 7390 § 1, 2017; Ord. 7341 § 4, 2016; Ord. 7182 § 8, 2012; Ord. 6923 § 2, 2007; Ord. 5762 § 2, 1989; Ord. 5732 § 1, 1989; Ord. 5731 § 1, 1989; Ord. 3804 (part), 1971)