The Roswell City Council has changed the way the city figures the occupation tax it levies on businesses, a change that’s expected to boost annual collections from $800,000 to more than $2 million.

The city currently assesses its occupation tax based on the number of employees at a business. The Council recently amended its Occupation Tax Ordinance to change that calculation to a gross receipts method, effective for licenses with a renewal or initial tax year date of Jan. 1, 2018. The Council also passed a resolution establishing seven tax rates ranging from 0.01 percent to 0.12 percent.

The gross receipts option will establish a tax class structure based on business type profitability indexes, based on IRS business returns, with a $50,000 exemption on gross receipts, according to a staff summary of the changes.

The gross receipt methodology will not apply to home occupation businesses, which pay a fee of $100. The fee for professional services will double, to $400 per practitioner.

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Thousands of UGA students enjoy during the annual “Frat Beach” party for the weekend of the Georgia-Florida football game on St. Simons Island, Friday, November 1, 2024. On the weekend of the Georgia-Florida football game, St. Simons Island’s East Beach becomes “Frat Beach,” an open-air party teeming with thousands of highly inebriated college students. (Hyosub Shin / AJC)

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