The Roswell City Council has revised its occupation tax ordinance to require out-of-town real estate brokers to pay the tax if they handle a transaction inside the city.
Previously, only brokers with an office in Roswell had to pay the tax, according to Finance Director Ryan Luckett. State law, however, allows Roswell to tax any broker who transacts business in the city.
The change “puts Roswell-based real estate brokers on a level playing field with brokers in other cities,” Luckett told the council.
Council members also by unanimous vote increased the standard gross receipts exemption from $50,000 to $100,000; implemented a tiered per-employee fee in addition to the gross receipts tax; moved the tax due date from Dec. 31 to March 15; reduced the grace period to pay from 90 to 30 days; and removed the $100 cap on the occupation tax paid by home businesses.
The city collected about $1.6 million from its occupation tax in fiscal 2018, and the changes are expected to result in a net revenue increase of about $195,000, staff said.
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