CHAPTER 517

An Act to amend the Code of Virginia by adding thereto a section num-
bered 58-266.4, relating to local license taxes.
[H 399]

Approved April 5, 1954
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That the Code of Virginia be amended by adding thereto a section
numbered 58-266.4 as follows:

§ 58-266.4. SITUS FOR LOCAL LICENSE TAXATION.—

(a) Situs for local license taxation of practitioners of professions.—
The situs for the local license taxation of every practitioner of a profes-
sion which the State regulates by law shall be the city, town or county
in which such a practitioner maintains his office; provided, however, that
if any such person maintains any branch office in any other city, town
or county, the city, town or county in which such branch office is located
may impose a local license tax on him, but if such local license tax be
measured by volume, the volume on which the tax may be computed
shall be the volume attributable to practice in the city, town or county
in which such a branch office is maintained, and any volume so includ-
able in the base for measuring such tax shall be deductible from the
base in computing any local license tax measured by volume imposed on
him by the city, town or county in which he maintains his principal
office. If any practitioner of a profession which the State regulates by
law does not maintain any office, the situs for the local license taxation
of such a practitioner shall be the city, town or county in which such
person maintains his place of abode, if he has a place of abode in this
State, otherwise the situs shall be each city, town or county in which he
practices his profession. The word ‘volume’, as used in this paragraph
means gross receipts or other base for measuring a license tax which is
related to the amount of business done.

‘((b) Operation of section.—The foregoing provisions of this section
shall apply and are restricted to every city, town and county which
possesses the authority to levy local license taxes under other provisions
of law, including charter provisions. Nothing in this section contained
shall be construed as authorizing any city, town or county to levy any
local license tax of any kind or class in any case in which the authority
to levy such a local license tax is not conferred by other provisions of
law, including charter provisions, nor shall anything in this section con-
tained be construed as enlarging the existing authority of any city, town
or county to levy local license taxes. This section shall prevail over any
other statutory provision heretofore enacted in conflict with it, and it
shall prevail over any provision of any charter of any city or town in
conflict with it.

(c) In any case where a business subject to a local license tax is
located partially within a city and partially within a county by reason
of the boundary line between such city and county passing through such
place of business, the situs for the local license of such business shall be
each city and county in which any part of such place of business 1s
located; but, in every such case, if a local license tax be measured by
the volume of business done, the volume allocable to each political sub-
division for measuring the local license tax levied by it shall be such
proportion of the total volume of business done at such place of business
as the area within that political subdivision which such place of business
actually occupies and actively uses in connection with such business, bears
to the total area which such place of business actually occupies and
actively uses in connection with such business. And in every such case,
if a local license tax be a flat tax, the amount thereof shall be adjusted
so as to constitute such proportion of the entire flat license tax levied
by the political subdivision as the area within that political subdivision
which such place of business actually occupies and actively uses in con-
nection with such business, bears to the total area which such place of
business actually occupies and actively uses in connection with such
business. The word ‘area’, as used in this section, means the area of
the land actually occupied by the building or structure constituting the
place of business; but if such place of business actually occupies and
actively uses only a part of such building or structure, the land area
below such part shall be the land area which shall be used in making
the apportionment, whether such building or structure contains one story
or floor or more than one story or floor. If the place of business be of
such nature that inventories are kept or stored outside of a building or
structure, then the land area used in keeping or storing such inventories,
together with the land area actually occupied by any building or struc-
ture, or part thereof, which is actually occupied and actively used in
connection with such business shall constitute the land area for making
the apportionment. If the place of business has a parking area con-
tiguous thereto for the use of its vehicles or those of its customers to
the exclusion of any other business, such area shall be included in the
word “area” as used in this section; and if the place of business has a
contiguous parking area used in common with other places of business,
such parking area shall be apportioned for the purpose of this section
among such places of business in the ratio of their total areas to the
whole parking area, and the area so apportioned shall be included within
the word “area” as used in this section. .

(d) Any person whose place of business comes within the provisions
of §58-266.5'and who considers himself aggrieved by the imposition
upon him of a local license tax, may, at any time during the license year
apply for relief to any court of record having jurisdiction in any county
or city involved, and the court shall issue against each such county or
city a rule to show cause why relief should not be granted. The rule
shall be served on the Attorney for the Commonwealth for the county
or on the city attorney for the city, as the case may be. The court shall
hear the case without a jury and shall render judgment declaring the
proper tax to be paid, and granting such relief as may be proper. In
any case where the court finds that the tax imposed was excessive, no
costs shall be awarded against the taxpayer, nor shall he be liable for
penalty or interest on such tax if he pays the tax before the expiration
of fifteen days after final judgment.