Seattle Rule 5-003
Business license tax certificate suspension and revocation
(1) Actsjustifying refusal to renew or revocation of business license tax certificate.SMC 5.55.230 governs the refusal
to renew and revocation of businesslicense tax certificates. The Department may refuse to renew or revoke a businesslicense tax certificate if:
(a) The license was procured by fraud or falserepresentation of fact;
(b) The licensee has failed to comply with any provisionsof Chapters 5.32, 5.35, 5.37, 5.40, 5.45, 5.46, 5.48, 5.52, or 5.55
of theSeattle Municipal Code; or
(c) The licensee is in default in any payment of anylicense fee or tax under Title 5 or Title 6 of the Seattle Municipal
Code.
(d) The property at which the business is located hasbeen determined by a court to be a chronic nuisance property as
provided in SMCChapter 10.09.
(2) Date refusal to renew or revocation takes effect. Norevocation of, or refusal to renew a license issued pursuant to the
provisionsof SMC Chapter 5.55 shall take effect until thirty (30) days after the mailing ofthe notice thereof by the Director by certified mail, and if appeal is taken asprescribed in SMC 5.55.230, until final action by the Hearing Examiner. If
thelicensee does not timely appeal, the refusal to renew or revocation becomesfinal effective 30 days after the date the notice was mailed.
(3) Definition.
Business license tax certificate. The term "businesslicense tax certificate," as used in this section, has the
same meaning asthe term used in SMC 5.55.
(4) Procedure.
(a) Notice required. The Director, or his or herdesignee, shall notify a licensee in writing by certified mail of the
refusalto renew or revocation of his or her license and the grounds therefor.Licensees shall ensure that their current mailing address is on file with theDepartment. Mailing to the licensee's most recent address on file with theDepartment shall be
sufficient notice. If notice is mailed to such address,actual receipt of the notice is not required to effectuate refusal to renew orrevocation of the license.
(b) Appeal. A licensee may, within thirty (30) days fromthe date that the refusal to renew or revocation notice was mailed
to thelicensee, appeal from such refusal to renew or revocation by filing a writtennotice of appeal ("petition") setting forth the grounds therefor withthe Office of the Hearing Examiner. The licensee must provide a copy of thepetition to the
Director and the City Attorney on or before the date thepetition is filed with the Hearing Examiner in order to perfect the appeal. Thehearing shall be conducted in accordance with the procedures for hearingcontested cases in the Seattle Administrative
Code (Chapter 3.02 of the SeattleMunicipal Code). The Hearing Examiner shall set a date for hearing the appealand notify the licensee by mail of the time and place of the hearing. After thehearing, the Hearing Examiner shall make appropriate findings of
fact, andconclusions of law. The Hearing Examiner shall affirm, modify, or overrule therefusal to renew or revocation. If the Hearing Examiner modifies or overrulesthe Director's action, it may reinstate the license, or may impose any termsupon the
continuance of the license that the Hearing Examiner may deemadvisable.
(c) Action stayed upon appeal. The refusal to renew orrevocation action is stayed upon appeal pending final action by the
HearingExaminer.
(d) Surrender of license required. All licenses which arerefused to be renewed or revoked shall be surrendered to the City
on theeffective date of such refusal to renew or revocation. It is unlawful for anylicensee to engage in business after its business license tax certificate hasbeen refused to be renewed or revoked.
(e) License fee nonrefundable. Upon the refusal to renewor the revocation of any license, no portion of the license fee
shall bereturned to the licensee.
(f) Order shall be posted. A final refusal to renew orrevocation order shall be posted in a conspicuous place at the main
entrance tothe licensee's place of business and shall remain posted until the businesslicense tax certificate has been reinstated.
(5) Reinstatement of business license tax certificate. A businesslicense tax certificate that has not been renewed because
of the refusal of theDirector, or that has been revoked shall not be reinstated until:
(a) All amounts due have been paid, or arrangements forpayment have been approved by the Director;
(b) The licensee has posted with the Department a bond orother security in an amount equal to at least one-half its future
estimatedaverage annual tax liability; and
(c) All conditions imposed by the Director and/or theHearing Examiner have been fulfilled.
(d) A period of oneyear has passed since the effective date of the refusal to renew or therevocation of the license.
DIRECTOR'S CERTIFICATION
I, Glen M. Lee, Finance Director of the City ofSeattle, do hereby certify
under penalty of perjury of law, that the within andforegoing is a true and
correct copy as adopted by the City of Seattle,Department of Finance and
Administrative Services.
DATED this ______ day of July 2016.
CITY OF SEATTLE,
a Washingtonmunicipality
By: ____________________________________
Glen M.Lee, Finance Director
Department ofFinance and Administrative
Services
Effectivedate: July 14, 2016