LTC 336-2017 Business Tax Receipt UpdatesMIIA.MIBEACH
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
LTC# 336-2017 LETTER TO COMMISSION
TO:
FROM: Jimmy L. Morales, City Manager
DATE: June 27, 2017
SUBJECT: Business Tax Receipt Updates
Fiscal Year 2017/18 Renewal Notices
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 before October 1st of each year, and expire on September
30th of the succeeding year.
The City will be mailing out the Fiscal Year 2017/18 renewal notices in early July of 2017. The mailing
consists of approximately 8,000 courtesy renewal notices to businesses, reminding them to renew their
BTR by September
30th, 2017. In addition to mailing out renewal notices, businesses will also be
receiving an automated courtesy email reminder this year, a process improvement resulting from the
City's new EnerGov permitting system.
Once payment for a renewal notice has been received, City staff review 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.
If the customer is current, the City mails out the actual BTR document to the business. If the customer
is delinquent on City obligations and payment for a BTR renewal has been received, per City Code, the
City withholds the BTR document and sends a letter to the customer stating the amount due and that
the delinquencies must be resolved before receiving their BTR. For example, if a business owner has
renewed their BTR, but owes the City for an unpaid code violation, their BTR will be "on hold" pending
payment of the violation. This has proven to be a valuable tool in assisting the City with collections of
delinquent utility bills, resort tax obligations, special assessments, liens, violations, and other payments
due to the City.
Applications for New Businesses
A BTR is required for any business operating within the jurisdiction of the City. All for-profit businesses
providing merchandise or service to the public, even a one-person company or home-based
occupation, must obtain and pay a business tax. 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, Suite 100.
All BTR applications are processed by the Finance Department and electronically routed to the
following regulatory departments for review:
• Planning and Zoning;
• Fire;
• Building; and
• Code Compliance
Additionally, depending on the type of application (ex. valet operators, pawn shops, parking garages)
reviews for BTRs may be conducted by the following departments:
• Risk Management;
• Police;
• Parking; and
• Public Works
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.
Through these enforcement and inspection processes, several property management businesses,
operating strip malls and office buildings, have been identified as not having a BTR. There have been
locations discovered recently where tenants in a strip mall or an office building have a valid BTR, but
the owner managing the property has not obtained a BTR (typically called a "Shell BTR"). The
owners/property managers of these strip malls and office buildings are engaged in a for-profit business
within City jurisdiction and are required to obtain a BTR. This is important because a violation could
incorrectly be issued to a tenant instead of the building owner, which could negatively affect the status
of their BTR.
The Fire Department has provided a listing of these businesses to the Finance Department, and an
outreach/compliance program has begun for these locations to obtain their BTRs by the
commencement of Fiscal Year 2017/18. The identified businesses will receive a letter with instructions
on how to apply for a BTR. A listing of businesses that do not come into compliance will be forwarded
to the Code Compliance Department for follow-up.
BTR Fee Adjustment
The City will additionally be adjusting BTR fees by 5% in order to comply with Ordinance 2003-
3420. This Ordinance authorized the City to adjust BTR fees by 5% every other year in order to catch
up to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increases from 1994 up through 2011. This was intentionally
done by a previous Commission to create a process/mechanism "to ensure that the City is recovering
costs for services provided." The last of these planned increases is earmarked for Fiscal Year 2019/20.
Should you have any inquiries pertaining to BTRs, please feel free to contact me or John Woodruff,
Chief Financial Officer.
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