By Roberta C. Solera, Community Development Director

In order to operate in the City of Sunny Isles Beach, businesses must obtain a Local Business Tax Receipt that is issued by the City. Going through the process of obtaining a Local Business Tax Receipt, ensures that businesses are operating according to local, county and state laws.

To keep operating, a business must renew the Local Business Tax Receipt on a yearly basis. This article is intended to provide:

• information about the State statue that regulates the Local Business Tax Receipt.
• the timeline for renewing.
• the penalty costs and consequences of not renewing in a timely manner.

State Statue
Within the City, the Community Development Department is responsible for issuing the Local Business Tax Receipt as guided by State Statute 205, Section 205.053 that states:

“ (1) All Local Business Tax Receipts shall be sold by the appropriate tax collector beginning August 1 of each year, are due and payable on or before September 30 of each year, and expire on September 30 of the succeeding year.”…

…“Receipts that are not renewed when due are delinquent and subject to a delinquency penalty…”

“(3) Any person who engages in any business, occupation, or profession covered by this chapter, who does not pay the required Business Tax Receipt within 150 days after the initial notice of tax due, and who does not obtain the required Business Tax Receipt is subject to civil actions and penalties, including, court costs, reasonable attorneys’ fees, additional administrative costs incurred as a result of collection efforts, and a penalty of up to $250.00.”

Renewal Fees due September 30th
On or before August 1st, 2008; the City’s Community Development Department mailed to all existing businesses in the City courtesy renewal notices. All business owners were encouraged to renew by September 30tt to avoid incurring any penalty fees.

Penalty Fees
Business owners not paying their renewal fee by September 30th subjected the business to penalty fees as outlined in the chart below.  Past Due Notices were mailed to all delinquent businesses in November 2008. In December 2008 we are sending the second past due notice.  

Chart: After September 30th Renewal Penalty Fees

Starting February 15, 2009; the City’s Community Development Department will issue Code Enforcement Warning Notices of Violation to all businesses that have not paid the required tax and obtained their Local Business Tax Receipt.

• The warning notice will give those delinquent businesses until February 22, 2009 to comply. 
• Businesses that do not respond to the warning notice will be issued Civil Violation Notices with a $100.00 civil penalty for failure to renew the Local Business Tax Receipt and $250.00 civil penalty for failure to renew the required certificate of use.
• The Civil Violation Notice will require the delinquent business owners’ to comply within seven (7) calendar days of their receipt of the citation.  The violator also has the right to appeal the notice before the City Special Master.

The Community Development Department strives for compliance prior to issuance of warnings or civil violations, but will insure that all businesses are in compliance prior to becoming operational. Operating a business without a Business Tax Receipt is a violation of the State Statute indicated above.

The Community Development Department is ready to help you comply with these requirements. The Department’s phone number is 305-792-1705 and our staff is ready to respond to any questions and help you through the process.