Tax Type
BPOL Tax
Description
Definite place of business; Residence
Topic
Local Power to Tax
Date Issued
03-11-1997
March 11, 1997
Re: Request for Advisory Opinion: BPOL
Dear******************
This will respond to your letter transmitted by fax on February 13, 1997, requesting an advisory opinion.
The license tax is a local tax which is imposed and administered by local officials. The Code of Virginia limits the involvement of the Department of Taxation to promulgating guidelines and issuing advisory opinions. However, the department shall not be required to interpret any local ordinance.
While addressing the questions raised in your letter, this response is intended to provide advisory guidance only and does not constitute a formal or binding ruling.
FACTS
In an earlier request for an advisory opinion, you presented the following facts:
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- An independent truck driver, who resides in the City of **** contracts with one company located in the city for all of his hauling business. In virtually all cases the company contacts the trucker for hauling jobs while he is on the road via cellular phone. In most of the hauling jobs goods are picked up and delivered outside the Commonwealth. Although no hauling jobs are performed in the City o****the truck driver's rig is parked there when he is off duty. The trucker is not licensed in any Virginia locality and disagrees with the City of ********* that he should be subject to licensure there.
Based on the foregoing facts, I concluded that the trucker would be subject to licensure in . Your current inquiry is whether this result would change if the company supplying the trucking jobs in the example was not located in your jurisdiction.
DETERMINATION
Section 58.1-3703.1 Code of Virginia, provides that every local ordinance imposing a license tax must contain a provision substantially similar to the foregoing:
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- License requirement. Every person shall apply for a license for each business or profession when engaging in a business in this jurisdiction if...(ii) there is no definite place of business anywhere and the person resides in this jurisdiction...
"Definite place of business" is defined in § 58.1-3700.1 which provides:
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- A person's residence shall be deemed to be a definite place of business if there is no definite place of business maintained elsewhere and the person is not subject to licensure as a peddler or itinerant merchant.
The two key facts for purposes of our inquiry are first, that the trucker has no definite place of business anywhere and second, that the trucker resides in your jurisdiction. Given these key facts, the trucker is deemed to be subject to licensure in the jurisdiction where he resides under the code sections cited above. The fact that the business that hires the trucker is located elsewhere does not change the key facts stated above nor my resulting conclusion that the trucker must obtain a license in your jurisdiction.
I hope that the above information will be beneficial to you. Although I believe this letter conforms with the law, it is written only for your guidance. If you have any further questions or comments, please do not hesitate to let me know.
Sincerely,
Danny Payne
Tax Commissioner
OTP/12179
Rulings of the Tax Commissioner