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Mesa, AZ Post Office Box 1466, 85201
Contact: |
Tax
and License Office
(480) 644-2316 |
Taxpayer Problem
Resolution Officer:
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Tom LaVell
Phone: (480) 644-4854 tom.[email protected] |
Collection
By: |
Self; Dept. of Revenue (effective 1/1/2017) |
Sales
Tax %: |
1;
1.5 (effective 8/1/1998); 1.75 (effective 7/1/2006); 2.0 (effective 3/1/2019) |
Use
Tax %: |
1;
1.5 (effective 8/1/1998); 1.75 (effective 7/1/2006); 2.0 (effective 3/1/2019) |
City Tax Rates: |
Web Page |
Interest
Rate %/month: |
(same as state) |
License
Fee: |
$30.00 Application Fee plus $20 Annual Fee. Effective 1/1/15 License Fee is $20.00, No Application Fee, and Renewal Fee is $20.00. |
Length of License: |
Annual |
Criminal Penalty: |
Class
1 |
Date Code Effective: |
4-8-87 |
Chapter #: |
5-10 |
Amendments
or Special Provisions:
1.
Impose an additional 2.5% bed tax effective July 1, 1996. 3% additional rate is effective July 1, 2004. Effective January 1, 2011, the additional rate is 5%.
2. Jet fuel taxed
at $0.03 per gallon.
3. Sec. 5-10-465(q)
and Sec. 5-10-660(q) are amended as prescribed by a voter initiative
to read:
(q) sales of food.
For the purpose of these rules, unless the context requires otherwise,
the following definitions will apply:
(1) "Accessory
food items" means coffee, tea, cocoa, carbonated and uncarbonated
drinks, candy, condiments and spices, and other nonstaple foods.
(2) "Attendant"
means a person, generally the employee of the retailer, who waits
on the customers, or tends to their needs.
(3) "Automatic
retailer" means a coin operated mechanical device or system which
sells tangible personal property. Such device or system must itself
vend or sell the items, i.e., a device or system which delivers
the subject of the sale, or by automatic action physically delivers
the thing sold. Vending machines are considered automatic retailers.
(4) "Caterer"
means a person engaged in the business of serving meals, food and
drinks on the premises used by his customer, but does not include
employees hired by the hour or day.
(5) "Delicatessen"
means a business which sells specialty food items, such as prepared
cold meats, perishable food and grocery items kept under refrigeration.
(6) "Facilities
for the consumption of food" means appropriate furniture, tableware,
or parking areas for sitting both in or on the premises of the business,
either in or out of a motor vehicle.
(7) "Food"
(A) Food
is defined as those items that may be purchased from an eligible
grocery business with food coupons, but in no event may such definition
of food include
food for
consumption on the premises, alcoholic beverages or tobacco. Even
though alcoholic beverages and food for consumption on the premises
may be intended for human consumption, such items are not considered
food by the statutory provisions. In these rules, items that are
considered food by the statutes, and therefore tax exempt if sold
by a qualified retailer, shall be referred to as "tax exempt foods".
Other items that may be intended for human consumption but are
excluded from the definition of food by the statute, and are therefore
subject to the sales tax, shall be referred to herein as "taxable
foods".
(B) "Food"
means items intended for human consumption. Food is deemed to
be intended for human consumption when its intended or ordinary
use is as a food for human consumption or is an ingredient used
in preparing food for human consumption. For example, even though
animal food may be used by some humans, its ordinary or intended
use is not for human consumption. Also, even though vitamins and
other medication may be ingested, its intended or ordinary use
is as a health aid or therapeutic agent or a deficiency corrector
and is not intended for use as food. Following is a numeration
of items which the city does not consider food for human consumption:
(i) pet
food and supplies
(ii) cosmetics
and grooming items
(iii) tobacco
products
(iv) soaps
and paper products and household supplies
(v) dietary
supplements such as vitamins or protein supplements
(vi) medicines
(vii) fertilizer
(8) "Food for
consumption on the premises"
(A) "Food for
consumption on the premises" means the following:
(i) Hot prepared
food, including products, items or ingredients of food which are
prepared and sold or intended to be sold in a heated condition.
This also includes a combination of hot and cold food items or
ingredients if a single price is charged by the retailer.
(ii) Hot
or cold sandwiches including frozen sandwiches.
(iii) Food
served by an attendant to be eaten at tables, chairs, benches,
booths, stools, counters and within parking areas (for in-car
consumption).
(iv) Food
served with trays, glasses, dishes or other tableware. Food which
is generally selected by the customer from available displays
and then taken by the customer to a checkout stand for payment
is not considered to be served by the retailer.
(v) Beverages
sold in cups, glasses or open containers. Beverages shall include
items such as milk shakes and ice cream floats.
(vi) Food
sold by caterers.
(vii) Food
sold within the premises of theaters, exhibitions, fairs, amusement
parks, bowling alleys, athletic events, and other shows or contests
and any businesses which charge admission, entrance or cover fees
for exhibition, amusement, entertainment or instruction. While
food for consumption on the premises includes any food sold within
the premises of certain businesses, including businesses that
charge admission, entrance or cover fees for exhibition, amusement,
entertainment or instruction, food for consumption on premises
does not include sales of tax exempt food by a qualified retailer
within the premises of a full time educational institution that
charges tuition for a full course of studies.
(B) Any item
enumerated in subparagraph (a) which is sold on a take-out or to-go
basis is still considered to be food for consumption on the premises
and therefore taxable.
(9) "Food intended
for home consumption" means food, other than food for consumption
on the premises, which is usually intended to be consumed at home.
Unless the taxpayer can establish to the contrary, food delivered
by a retailer to an office or other business establishment shall not
be considered food intended for home consumption.
(10) "Home" means
a natural person's usual or habitual dwelling place, including rest
homes, nursing homes, jails and other such institutions.
(11) "Premises"
means the total space and facilities, including buildings, grounds
and parking lot that are made available for use by the retailer for
the purpose of consuming food sold by such retailer.
(12) "Qualified
retailer"
(A) A qualified
retailer or qualified retail business is one that may be eligible
to sell tax exempt food without including the sale of tax exempt
food items in its taxable base. A retailer other than a qualified
retailer must pay a tax measured by the sale of otherwise exempt
food even though the sale of such items would be exempt if sold
by a qualified retailer.
(B) Qualified
retailers are:
(i) An eligible
grocery business, which includes retailers who are eligible to
participate in the United States Department of Agriculture Food
Stamp Program, whether such retailer actually participates in
the food stamp program. If a retailer is eligible to participate
in the food stamp program, but does not participate in such program,
such retailer may only be an eligible grocery business if the
retailer first makes application to the Arizona Department of
Revenue (and is approved by the State) to sell food tax exempt.
Examples of retailers that might be considered eligible grocery
businesses include:
a) grocery stores
b) convenience stores
c) butcher shops
d) bakeries
e) dairy stores
f) cheese stores
g) farmer's markets
(ii) Retailers
whose primary business is not the sale of food, but who sell food
in a manner similar to grocery stores. This category includes
stores such as department stores, drug stores, and gas stations.
(iii) Retailers
who sell food and who do not provide any facilities for consumption
of food on the premises. This category may include certain health
food stores, and certain outlets retailing soda and other similar
beverages in bottles or cans, but not cups.
(iv) Delicatessen
business, if such retailer conducts his business so that the sale
of tax exempt foods and other taxable items may be separately
accounted for, through, for example, the use of two (2) cash registers,
or a cash register with at least two (2) tax computing keys which
are used to record taxable and tax exempt sales.
(v) A retailer
who is a street or sidewalk vendor who uses a pushcart, mobile
facility, motor vehicle, or other such conveyance. Such retailers
include:
a) snackmobile
b) chuck wagon
c) mobile hot dog stands
(vi) Vending
machines and other automatic retailers.
(13) "Staple
food" means those food items intended for home preparation and consumption,
which includes meats, poultry, fish, bread and bread stuffs, cereals,
vegetables, fruits, fruit and vegetable juices, and dairy products.
(14) "Taxable
foods" are items which may be intended for human consumption, but
are still subject
to the sales tax when sold. Examples of taxable foods would be alcoholic
beverages, and food for consumption on the premises.
(15) Tax-exempt
foods
(A) "Tax exempt
foods" are generally those items of food intended for home consumption
which, if purchased from an eligible grocery business, would be
eligible as of January 1, 1998, to be purchased with food coupons
issued by the United States Department of Agriculture.
(B) Tax-exempt
foods shall also include any new items of food intended for human
consumption which would have been eligible for purchase with food
coupons issued by the United States Department of Agriculture if
such items would have existed for sale on January 1, 1998.
(C) The following
are examples of items which the city will consider as tax exempt
food: bread and flour products; vegetables and vegetable products;
candy and confectionery; sugar, sugar products and substitutes;
cereal and cereal products; butter, oleomargarine, shortening and
cooking oils; cocoa and cocoa products; coffee and coffee substitutes;
milk and milk products; egg and egg products; tea; meat and meat
products; spices, condiments, extracts and food colorings; fish
and fish products; frozen foods; soft drinks and soda (including
bottles on which a deposit is required to be paid); fruit and fruit
products; packaged ice cream products; dietary substitutes; ice
cubes and bottled water including carbonated and mineral water;
purchases of seed and plants for use in gardens to produce food
items for personal consumption.
(16) "Two tax
computing keys" shall mean the mechanical or electronic function in
a cash register which can separately record and accumulate taxable
and nontaxable items without having the items presorted.
4. Amendment to Section 300 as follows: (Expires on December 31, 2014)
Sec. 5-10-300. Licensing requirements.
(a) The following persons shall make application to the Tax Collector for a Privilege
License, accompanied by a non?refundable fee of fifty dollars ($50.00), and no person
shall engage or continue in business or engage in such activities until he shall have
such a license:
(1) every person desiring to engage or continue in business activities within the City upon which a Privilege Tax is imposed by this Chapter.
(2) every person, engaging or continuing in business within the City, storing
or using tangible personal property in this City upon which a Use Tax is
imposed by this Chapter.
(3) every person engaging in promoting, conducting or desiring to engage in,
business activities at an event occurring at the Mesa Centennial Center upon
which a privilege or use tax is imposed by this Chapter.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 5-1-300(a), if a person engaged in
promoting, conducting or desiring to engage in business activities at an event
occurring at the Mesa Centennial Center has made application to the tax collector for a privilege license and paid the non-refundable fee of fifty dollars ($50.00), then each additional person desiring to engage in business activities at the same event occurring
at the Mesa Centennial Center shall be required to make application to the Tax
Collector for a privilege license accompanied by a non-refundable fee of five dollars
($5.00).
(c) A person engaged in business activities within the City which are subject to the
City Privilege and Use Tax and who possesses a valid city privilege license shall not
be required to obtain a separate license to promote, conduct or engage in business
activities at an event occurring at the Mesa Centennial Center upon which a privilege
or use tax is imposed by this Chapter.
(d) A person engaged in more than one activity subject to City Privilege and Use Taxes
at any one business location is not required to obtain a separate license for each
activity; provided that, at the time such person makes application for a license, he
shall list on such application each category of activity in which he is engaged. The
licensee shall inform the Tax Collector of any changes in his business activities,
location, or mailing address within thirty (30) days.
(e) Limitation. The issuance of a Privilege License by the Tax Collector shall
in no way be construed as permission to operate a business activity in violation of any
other law or regulation to which such activity may be subject.
5. Amended Section 5-10-310 as follows (Effective January 1, 2009) (Expires on December 31, 2014)
Sec. 5-10-310: Licensing: duration of license; annual license fee; transferability; display; penalties; cancellation; renewal; late application provisions; actions.
(a) Except as provided in Section 5-10-320, the Privilege License shall be valid only for the calendar year in which it is issued unless renewed each
year by filing the appropriate application for renewal and paying the renewal fee of twenty dollars ($20.00), which is due and pay able on January 1
and shall be considered delinquent if not received on or before the last business day of January. Application and payment for renewal must be received
within the Tax Collector's office by such date to be deemed final and paid.
(b) The Privilege License shall be nontransferable between owners or locations and shall be on display to the public in the licensee's place of
business.
(c) Any licensee who permits his license to expire through cancellation as provided in Section 5-10-320, by his request for cancellation, by surrender
of the license, or by the cessation of the business activity for which the license was issued and who thereafter applies for a license shall be granted
a new license as an original applicant and shall pay the current application license fee imposed by Section 5-10-300. Any licensee who loses or
misplaces his Privilege License which is still in effect shall be charged the current application license fee for each reissuance of a license.
(d) (Reserved)
(e) Any licensee who fails to renew his license on or before the date provided in (A) above shall be deemed to be operating without a license following
such due date, and shall be subject to all penalties imposed under this Chapter against persons required to be licensed and operating without a license.
The non-licensed status may be removed by payment of an annual license fee in the amount of one hundred fifty percent (150%) of the fee imposed under
(A) above.
(f) (Reserved)
(g) (Reserved)
(h) If any person required to be licensed under this Chapter fails to obtain a license on or before the conducting of any business activity requiring
such license, such person shall be subject to a penalty in the amount of fifty percent (50%) of the annual license fee for each period of time for
which such fee would have been imposed from and after the date on which such activity commenced until paid. This penalty shall be in addition to any
other penalty imposed under this Chapter and must be paid prior to the issuance of any license.
(i) Notwithstanding the failure of any person to apply for a license and to remit all fees and penalties, if any, imposed herein, such person
conducting a business activity subject to licensing without obtaining a license, shall be liable to the City for all applicable fees and penalties and
shall be subject to the provisions of Sections 5-10-580 and 5-10-590, to the same extent as if said fees and penalties were taxes and penalties under
such Sections.
(j) (Reserved)
6. On November 6, 2018, a majority of voters in the city of Mesa approved Question 2 to increase the Transaction Privilege Tax (TPT) to 2.0%. The rate increases detailed in Ordinance 5478
will provide funds soley for Mesa Police, Mesa Fire and Medical Services, Personnel, Equipment, Training and Related Costs.
This change has an effective date of March 1, 2019.
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