Current through 2023-2024 Legislative Session Chapter 709
Section 48-13-14 - Levy on business or practitioner with location or office in more than one jurisdiction; allocating gross receipts; limits on levies using criteria for taxation(a) In levying occupation tax upon a business or practitioner with a location or office situated in more than one jurisdiction, including businesses or practitioners with one or more locations or offices in Georgia and one or more locations outside the state, local governments which use the criterion described in paragraph (3) of subsection (a) of Code Section 48-13-10 shall allocate the gross receipts as defined in paragraph (2) of Code Section 48-13-5 of the business or practitioner for occupation tax purposes in accordance with one of the following methods: (1) Where the business or practitioner can reasonably allocate the dollar amount of gross receipts of the business or practitioner to one or more of the locations or offices on the basis of product manufactured in that location or office or the sales or other services provided in that location or office, each local government is authorized to tax the gross receipts generated by the location or office within the jurisdiction of the local government; or(2) Where the business or practitioner cannot reasonably allocate the dollar amount of gross receipts among multiple locations or offices, the business or practitioner shall divide the gross receipts reported to all local governments in this state by the number of locations or offices of the business or practitioner which contributed to the gross receipts reported to any local government in this state, and shall allocate an equal percentage of such gross receipts of the business or practitioner to each location or office.(b) In no instance shall the sum of the portions of the total gross receipts of a business or practitioner taxed by all local governments exceed 100 percent of the total gross receipts of the business or practitioner.(c) In the event of a dispute between the business or practitioner and the local government as to the allocation under this Code section, the business or practitioner shall have the burden of proof as to the reasonableness of this allocation.(d) Upon request, businesses or practitioners with a location or office situated in more than one jurisdiction shall provide to any local government authorized to levy an occupation tax upon such business or practitioner the following: (1) Financial information necessary to allocate the gross receipts of the business or practitioner; and(2) Information relating to the allocation of the business's or practitioner's gross receipts by other local governments.(e) When more than one local government levies occupation tax on a business or practitioner which has locations encompassed by more than one local government and the local governments use different criteria for taxation in accordance with subsection (a) of Code Section 48-13-10, local governments which use the criterion described in paragraph (3) of subsection (a) of Code Section 48-13-10 are not authorized to tax any greater proportion of the gross receipts than authorized by subsection (a) of this Code section, and local governments which use the number of employees as a criterion for taxation are authorized to tax the number of employees who are employed within the local government's geographic jurisdiction. In the case of an employee who works for the same business or practitioner in more than one municipal corporation or county, the municipal corporation or county in which the employee works for the longest period of time within the calendar year shall be authorized to count the individual as an employee who is employed within the local government's geographic jurisdiction for purposes of occupation tax.