HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrd 2349 - Gambling Tax on Social Card Rooms
Cover page to Ordinance 2349
The full text of the ordinance follows this cover page.
Ordinance 2349 was amended or repealed by the following
ordinances.
AMENDED REPEALED
Section(s) Amended Amended by Ord # Section(s) Repealed Repealed by Ord #
2 3 2730
2590, 2730
City of Tukwila
Washington
Ordinance No. Q. 3 Lj
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF TUKWILA, WASHINGTON, AMENDING ORDINANCE
NO. 1809 §1 (PART) TO REMOVE THE DISTINCTION
BETWEEN SOCIAL AND PUBLIC CARD ROOMS,
AMENDING VARIOUS ORDINANCES TO INCREASE
THE TAX ON CERTAIN GAMBLING ACTIVITIES UPON
CERTAIN TRIGGERS; AMENDING VARIOUS
ORDINANCES TO PROVIDE FOR INTEREST ON LATE
PAYMENT OF GAMBLING TAXES; PROVIDING FOR
SEVERABILITY; AND ESTABLISHING AN EFFECTIVE
DATE.
WHEREAS, on February 22, 2011, the Tukwila City Council passed Ordinance No.
2323, which allowed social /public card rooms citywide until December 31, 2015, after
which social /public card rooms conducted as a commercial stimulant would thereafter
be prohibited effective January 1, 2016; and
WHEREAS, the social card rooms operating in Tukwila generate significant
gambling tax revenues for the City; and
WHEREAS, there is a cost to patrol and enforce City codes related to gambling;
and
WHEREAS, the more card rooms operated as a commercial stimulant, the more
City costs increase; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to the City Council's power to tax certain activities for
revenue purposes as set forth in RCW 9.46.110, the City Council now desires to
increase the tax levied on any social card room operated as a commercial stimulant,
upon certain conditions, by amending Tukwila Municipal Code (TMC) Section
3.08.030.A.4; and
WHEREAS, the City desires to make its code consistent with state law regarding
the class of taxpayers for each gambling activity; and
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WHEREAS, state law does not distinguish between social and public card rooms,
for taxation purposes;
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TUKWILA,
WASHINGTON, HEREBY ORDAINS AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. TMC Section 3.08.010, "Statutory Provisions Incorporated by
Reference," Amended. Ordinance No. 1809 §1 (part), as codified at TMC Section
3.08.010, is hereby amended to read as follows:
The provisions of Chapter 218, Laws of Washington, 1973 First Extraordinary
Session, as amended by Chapters 135 and 155, Laws of Washington, Third
Extraordinary Session 1974, are incorporated in total by reference as though fully set
forth, and in particular, the definitions as contained in Section 2, Chapter 218, Laws of
1973, First Extraordinary Session, as amended, relating, among others, to "amusement
games," "bingo," "raffles," "gambling," "punchboards," "pulltabs," and "social card
games."
Section 2. TMC Section 3.08.030, "Tax Rates," Amended. Ordinance Nos.
2230 §1, 2150 §1, 1891 §1 and 1809 §1 (part), as codified at TMC Section 3.08.030,
are hereby amended to read as follows:
A. Pursuant to RCW 9.46.110 and RCW 9.46.120, as amended by the Laws of
Washington, effective July 27, 1997, there is levied upon all persons, associations and
organizations who have been duly licensed by the Washington State Gambling
Commission, as authorized by law, the following tax:
1. Bingo games and raffles: To conduct or operate any bingo games and
raffles, a tax rate of 5% of the gross revenue received therefrom, Tess the actual amount
paid by such person, association or organization for or as prizes.
2. Amusement game: To conduct any amusement game, a tax rate of 2% of
the gross revenue received therefrom, less the actual amount paid by such person,
association or organization for or as prizes.
3. Punchboards or pulltabs: For the conduct or operation of any punchboards
or pulltabs, a tax rate of 5% of the gross receipts from such activities for commercial
stimulant operators (taverns, restaurants, etc.); and a tax rate of 10% on the gross
receipts less the amount paid out as prizes for charitable or nonprofit organizations.
4. Social card games:
a. For the conduct or operation of any premises or facility used to play
social card games, a tax rate of 10% of the gross receipts received therefrom; provided
that when the number of card rooms in the City exceeds five, the tax rate shall increase
to 15% of the gross receipts received therefrom. Additionally, when the number of card
rooms exceeds six, the tax rate shall increase to 20% of the gross receipts received
therefrom.
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b. For purposes of this provision, an operating business is defined as: a
business open to the public and engaged in the business of operating a social card
room for a period of 30 days. For purposes of this section, the 30 days are not required
to be consecutive days. After the 30 days of operations, which triggers the increased
tax rate, the Finance Director or his or her designee, shall notify the social card rooms
of the increased rate and that rate shall be paid thereafter by all card rooms in this tax
category, starting the financial quarter after notification.
B. Non Profit Organizations.
1. No tax shall be imposed under the authority of TMC Chapter 3.08 on bingo
or raffles when such activities or any combination thereof are conducted by any bona
fide charitable or nonprofit organization as defined in RCW 9.46.0209, which
organization has no paid or management personnel, and has gross income from bingo
and raffles, or any combination thereof, not exceeding $5,000 per year, less the amount
paid for or as prizes.
2. The Finance Director may waive the tax due each quarter from a bona fide
charitable or nonprofit organization as defined in RCW 9.46.0209. This waiver may
occur only if the charitable or nonprofit organization demonstrates by clear and
convincing documentation that an amount equal to at least 70% of the tax due the City,
as computed pursuant to TMC Section 3.08.030, will be donated to charitable nonprofit
organizations serving the City whose purpose is to provide programs or facilities for
meeting the basic health, education, welfare, or other needs of the residents of the City.
Failure to donate at least 70% of the tax due the City will result in revocation of the
waiver and the disqualification of the bona fide charitable or nonprofit organization to
receive a waiver for future tax payments.
Section 3. TMC Section 3.08.080, "Payment of Tax Penalty for Late
Payments," Amended. Ordinance Nos. 2323 §3 and 1809 §1 (part), as codified at
TMC Section 3.08.080, are hereby amended to read as follows:
A. The tax imposed by this chapter shall be due and payable in quarterly
installments, and remittance therefor shall accompany each return and be made on or
before the last day of the month following the quarterly period in which the tax accrued.
B. If a person subject to this tax fails to pay any tax required by this chapter within
15 days after the due date thereof, there shall be added to such tax a penalty of 10% of
the tax per month for each month overdue, which shall be added to the amount of the
tax due.
Section 4. Corrections by City Clerk or Code Reviser. Upon approval of the
City Attorney, the City Clerk and the code reviser are authorized to make necessary
corrections to this ordinance, including the correction of clerical errors; references to
other local, state or federal laws, codes, rules, or regulations; or ordinance numbering
and section /subsection numbering.
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Section 5. Severability. If any section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause or
phrase of this ordinance or its application to any person or situation should be held to be
invalid or unconstitutional for any reason by a court of competent jurisdiction, such
invalidity or unconstitutionality shall not affect the validity or constitutionality of the
remaining portions of this ordinance or its application to any other person or situation.
Section 6. Effective Date. This ordinance or a summary thereof shall be published
in the official newspaper of the City, and shall take effect and be in full force five days
after passage and publication as provided by law.
PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TUKWIL WASHINGTON, at
a Regular Meeting thereof this _,oYN day of S0 e le 2011.
ATTEST /AUTHENTICATED:
Christy O'Flaherty, CMC, City C rk Haggert yor
APPROVED AS TO FORM BY: Filed with the City Clerk: q q
Passed by the City Council:
Published:
Effective Date:
Shelle Kersla City Attorney Ordinance Number:
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City of Tukwila Public Notice of Ordinance Adoption for Ordinance 2349.
On September 19, 2011 the City Council of the City of Tukwila, Washington, adopted
the following ordinance the main points of which are summarized by title as follows:
Ordinance 2349: AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
TUKWILA, WASHINGTON, AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 1809 §1 (PART) TO
REMOVE THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN SOCIAL AND PUBLIC CARD ROOMS,
AMENDING VARIOUS ORDINANCES TO INCREASE THE TAX ON CERTAIN
GAMBLING ACTIVITIES UPON CERTAIN TRIGGERS; AMENDING VARIOUS
ORDINANCES TO PROVIDE FOR INTEREST ON LATE PAYMENT OF GAMBLING
TAXES; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; AND ESTABLISHING AN EFFECTIVE
DATE.
The full text of this ordinance will be provided upon request.
Christy O'Flaherty, CMC, City Clerk
Published Seattle Times: September 22, 2011
Barbara Saxton
From: Shelley Kerslake <smkkd@comcast.net>
Sent: Friday, October 14, 2011 8:00 AM
To: Melissa Hart
Cc: Christy O'Flaherty; Barbara Saxton
Subject: RE: Ordinance No. 2349 - Social Card Rooms
Melissa — I would agree this is a "clerical error" as contemplated by the "Corrections by City Clerk" provision. You can go
ahead and make the change.
Shelley M. Kerslake
Kenyon Disend, PLLC.
11 Front St. S.
Issaquah, WA 98027
(425)392-7090
From: Melissa Hart [mailto:Melissa.Hart@TukwilaWA.gov]
Sent: Thursday, October 13, 2011 3:36 PM
To: smkkd@comcast.net; Shelley Kerslake
Cc: Christy O'Flaherty; Barbara Saxton
Subject: Ordinance No. 2349 - Social Card Rooms
Importance: High
Hi Shelley,
Barbara is checking my TMC updates (our checks and balances), and she noticed in Ordinance No. 2349 (the
5th version FINAL) one of the "words" that were to be removed from the final ordinance got missed and ended
up being included in the final ordinance. Below is the wording that I am talking about:
"The provisions of Chapter 218, Laws of Washington, 1973 First Extraordinary Session, as amended by
Chapters 135 and 155, Laws of Washington, Third Extraordinary Session 1974, are incorporated in total by
reference as though fully set forth, and in particular, the definitions as contained in Section 2, Chapter 218,
Laws of 1973, First Extraordinary Session, as amended, relating, among others, to "amusement games,"
"bingo," "raffles," "gambling," "punchboards," "pulltabs," and "social card games.," and "public card rooms."
The highlighted area in all the working versions we had was to be eliminated, and is shown as "strike -out" in
the September 12, 2011 C.O.W. packet, but the wording was not eliminated from the final version of the
ordinance for the September 19, 2011 meeting. Thankfully, this ordinance has the special section for
corrections:
"Corrections by City Clerk or Code Reviser. Upon approval of the City Attorney, the City Clerk and the
code reviser are authorized to make necessary corrections to this ordinance, including the correction of clerical
errors; references to other local, state or federal laws, codes, rules, or regulations; or ordinance numbering and
section/subsection numbering."
Would deleting the highlighted area fall into the corrections section? If yes, we will need to re -print only the
first page of the final ordinance without the highlighted area. Is this correction acceptable to you?
Thank you'll!!
Melissa