A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to authorize the municipalities in harnett county to levy a local business tax.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  This act applies only to the municipalities located in Harnett County.
SECTION 2.  Local business tax. (a) Levy and Scope. – A city council may, by ordinance, after not less than 10 days' public notice and a public hearing held pursuant thereto, levy an annual local business tax on each business located and operating within the city unless the business is engaged in an activity listed in G.S. 160A‑206. The rate of tax may not exceed one hundred dollars ($100.00). The tax applies to each business location and does not apply to each individual employed by or affiliated with that business.
(b)	Administration. – The tax is due by July 1 of each year. The tax is imposed for the privilege of engaging in business during the fiscal year that begins on the July 1 due date of the tax. A business must pay the tax before it begins to operate within the city. The full amount of the tax applies to a business that begins to operate at any time during the fiscal year. If a business is discontinued during the fiscal year, the business is not entitled to a refund.
(c)	Penalties and Collection. – The penalties in G.S. 105‑236 apply to this section. A city may collect a tax due in any manner allowed under Article 9 of Chapter 160A of the General Statutes.
(d)	Definitions. – The following definitions apply in this section:
(1)	Business. – A retailer, wholesale merchant, service provider, manufacturer, nonprofit other than a 501(c)(3), or franchise, whether it is a sole proprietorship, partnership, LLC, or corporation, whether it is home‑based or at another location, whether it is full‑time, part‑time, or seasonal, and regardless of size.
(2)	Location. – A uniquely identifiable geographic site or place from which one or more business units wholly or partly operate on a permanent or temporary basis. A business location does not include either of the following:
a.	For purposes of a business that manages rental property or engages in real estate brokering, the location of the rental property or brokered real estate does not constitute a separate business location.
b.	An automated teller machine or a cash dispenser.
SECTION 3.  This act is effective when it becomes law and applies to taxable years beginning on or after July 1, 2015.