NEW BUSINESS  12.

COMMITTEE MEMORANDUM

HISTORY:

Business Tax Receipts (BTR) are issued annually in accordance with Florida Statutes Chapter 205, as well as, locally governed by Article V, Section 102 of the Code of the City of Miami Beach. Chapter 205 states that Business Tax Receipts are due and payable on or before September 30^th of each year, and expire on September 30^th of the succeeding year.  BTRs are good from October 1^st through September 30^th of each fiscal year.

Every City business trade, occupation, profession or other manner of revenue-producing activity, regardless of whether a profit is actually made, is required to obtain and maintain an active BTR.

BTR applications are accepted online using the EnerGov permitting system’s Citizen’s Access Portal, as well as, in person at the Customer Service Center located at 1755 Meridian Avenue.

All BTR applications are processed by the Finance Department and electronically routed in EnerGov to the following regulatory departments for review:

• Planning and Zoning;
• Fire;
• Building; and
• Code Compliance

Additionally, depending on the type of application, reviews for BTRs may be conducted by the following departments:  Risk Management, Police, Parking and Public Works.

ANALYSIS:

Once a BTR application has been approved, an annual BTR renewal notice is sent to the business mailing address and email provided at the time of application.

The City mails out BTR renewal notices in early July of each year to provide businesses approximately three months to renew in advance of the October 1st deadline.  The City, on annual basis mails out, via the United States Postal Service, approximately 8,000 courtesy renewal notices created in the EnerGov permitting system; reminding businesses to renew their BTR by September 30^th.

In addition to mailing out renewal notices, businesses additionally receive an automated EnerGov system generated courtesy email reminder with their BTR renewal invoice, a process improvement resulting from the City’s new permitting system.

Once payment for a renewal notice has been received, the EnerGov system reviews the accounts of each customer to determine if they are current on all obligations to the City in accordance with Article V, Section 102-374 of the City Code.  This is an automated process in the permitting system.

If the customer is current, the City prints and mails out the actual BTR document to the business.  If the EnerGov system shows the business address as being delinquent on City obligations (called a “Hold” in our permitting system), and a payment for the BTR renewal has been received, the City withholds the BTR document and sends a letter to the customer stating that obligations due to the City must be resolved before the Business can receive their BTR.  This has proven to be a valuable tool in assisting the City with collections of delinquent utility bills, resort tax obligations, special assessments, liens, and other payments due to the City.  Commencing with the FY 2018/19 BTR renewal period, the City will be additionally mailing to each BTR holder, along with their annual renewal notice, a copy of all outstanding “Holds” attached to their address.

Traditionally, approximately 85% of BTR payments are received during the period directly following the mailing of renewal notices, the months of July through October of each calendar year. This percentage has increased to about 90% over the last two years, which seems to indicate the BTR renewal process is improving.

Enforcement of Businesses without a BTR

Through enforcement efforts from the Code Compliance Department, businesses that have not obtained or renewed a BTR are cited in an effort to obtain compliance with the City Code and State Statutes. 

Additionally, the Fire Department, while visiting business establishments during annual inspections, identifies businesses that have not obtained a BTR.

The City has implemented a business practice of not renewing expired BTRs.  In previous years, the City would send out new fiscal year renewals to businesses that had not renewed their current BTR, with the goal of generating/optimizing revenues when businesses eventually paid. City Management has instructed staff to cease this practice.  If a business has not renewed their BTR within a one year cycle, they do not receive a renewal for the next year and have to reapply for a new BTR if they are still in business.