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Except as provided in BCC 4.09.090(A), there is hereby levied upon and shall be collected from every person a tax for the act or privilege of engaging in business activities within the city, whether the person’s office or place of business be within or without the city. The tax shall be in amounts to be determined by application of rates against the square footage of office space in Bellevue and/or gross proceeds of sale, gross income of business, or value of products, including byproducts, as the case may be, as follows:

A. Square Footage Tax. Upon every person within this city who maintains an office(s) or facility(ies), the amount of tax shall be equal to $0.1834 for each quarterly period of a calendar year for each square foot of floor area of office space calculated to the nearest square foot. The tax rate set forth herein shall be administratively adjusted on January 1st of each year, beginning January 1, 2004, by the director, to reflect any change in the cost of living, as defined and calculated pursuant to BCC 4.03.020(B).

1. As to such person who maintains an office or facility that performs or supports an activity for which such person pays gross receipts business and occupation tax under this chapter, an exemption from a portion of the tax of this section is granted. The exemption is calculated by taking the proportion that adjusted gross receipts bears to the total gross receipts of the business location multiplied by the taxable floor area (as defined in subsection (A)(2) of this section), used to perform or support the activity subject to gross receipts business and occupation tax (subsection B of this section).

“Adjusted gross receipts” for the purpose of this subsection shall include total gross receipts of the business location less receipts from sales reportable under the wholesale or retail gross receipts tax classification delivered outside the city: (a) which are sales of digital products, as defined in BCC 4.09.030(OO), or (b) are deductible pursuant to BCC 4.09.100(F) or 4.09.100(N) and not taxed under subsection (B)(1) (extracting tax), subsection (B)(2) (manufacturing tax) or subsection (B)(5) (printing tax) of this section.

For any person with more than one location in the city, the floor space and receipts from locations within the city shall be combined for the purpose of calculating this exemption.

The director may promulgate rules and regulations regarding the manner, means and method of calculating the exemption.

2. The taxable floor area of office space shall be computed on the basis of net rentable area as follows:

a. Rentable Area – Single-Tenancy Floor. The rentable area of a single-tenancy floor, whether above or below grade, shall be computed by measuring to the inside finish of permanent outer building walls, or from the glass line if at least 50 percent of the outer building wall is glass. Rentable area shall include all area within outside walls, less stairs, elevator shafts, flues, pipe shafts, vertical ducts, air-conditioning rooms, fan rooms, janitor closets, electrical closets and such other rooms not actually available to the tenant for his/her furnishings and personnel, and their enclosing walls. Toilet rooms within and exclusively serving only that floor shall be included in the rentable area. No deductions from the rentable area calculation shall be made for columns and projections necessary to the building.

b. Rentable Area – Multiple-Tenancy Floor. The rentable area of a multiple-tenancy floor, whether above or below grade, shall be the sum of all rentable areas on that floor. The rentable area of an office on a multiple-tenancy floor shall be computed by measuring to the inside finish of permanent outer building walls, or to the glass line if at least 50 percent of the outer building wall is glass, to the office side of corridors and/or other permanent partitions, and to the center of partitions that separate the premises from adjoining rentable areas. No deductions from the rentable area calculation shall be made for columns and projections necessary to the building.

c. For purposes of this section, net rentable area shall not include warehouses, company gyms, cafeterias, and the retail selling area of a retail store.

d. When the taxable floor space of an office changes during a reporting period, the tax shall be computed on a monthly basis. For the purposes of this allocation, a month shall be deemed to be 16 or more days during any calendar month.

B. Gross Receipts Taxes.

1. Upon every person engaging within the city in business as an extractor; as to such persons the amount of the tax with respect to such business shall be equal to the value of the products, including byproducts, extracted within the city for sale or for commercial or industrial use, multiplied by the rate of 0.1596 of one percent (.001596). The measure of the tax is the value of the products, including byproducts, so extracted, regardless of the place of sale or the fact that deliveries may be made to points outside the city.

2. Upon every person engaging within the city in business as a manufacturer; as to such persons the amount of the tax with respect to such business shall be equal to the value of the products, including byproducts, manufactured within the city, multiplied by the rate of 0.1596 of one percent (.001596). The measure of the tax is the value of the products, including byproducts, so manufactured, regardless of the place of sale or the fact that deliveries may be made to points outside the city.

3. Upon every person engaging within the city in the business of making sales at wholesale, as to such persons, the amount of tax with respect to such business shall be equal to the gross proceeds of such sales of the business without regard to the place of delivery of articles, commodities or merchandise sold, multiplied by the rate of 0.1596 of one percent (.001596).

4. Upon every person engaging within the city in the business of making sales at retail; as to such persons, the amount of tax with respect to such business shall be equal to the gross proceeds of such sales of the business, without regard to the place of delivery of articles, commodities or merchandise sold, multiplied by the rate of 0.1596 of one percent (.001596).

5. Upon every person engaging within the city in the business of (a) printing, (b) both printing and publishing newspapers, magazines, periodicals, books, music, and other printed items, (c) publishing newspapers, magazines and periodicals, (d) extracting for hire, and (e) processing for hire; as to such persons, the amount of tax on such business shall be equal to the gross income of the business multiplied by the rate of 0.1596 of one percent (.001596).

6. Upon every person engaging within the city in the business of making sales of retail services; as to such persons, the amount of tax with respect to such business shall be equal to the gross proceeds of sales multiplied by the rate of 0.1596 of one percent (.001596).

7. Upon every other person engaging within the city in any business activity other than or in addition to those enumerated in the above subsections; as to such persons, the amount of tax on account of such activities shall be equal to the gross income of the business multiplied by the rate of 0.1596 of one percent (.001596). This subsection includes, among others, and without limiting the scope hereof (whether or not title to material used in the performance of such business passes to another by accession, merger or other than by outright sale), persons engaged in the business of developing, or producing custom software or of customizing canned software, producing royalties or commissions, and persons engaged in the business of rendering any type of service which does not constitute a sale at retail, a sale at wholesale, or a retail service. (Ord. 6696 § 1, 2022; Ord. 6604 § 1, 2021; Ord. 6093 § 1, 2012; Ord. 5780 § 11, 2007; Ord. 5558 § 10, 2004; Ord. 5436 § 2, 2003.)