The City of Lodi has stopped collecting its business license tax and will issue refunds for all payments made in the last twelve months. City staff and the City Council found the ordinance was adopted in 1995 and therefore fell within a window of retroactivity of 1996’s Proposition 218, so it requires voter approval to continue the tax.
The City will begin a simple refund process for all business license tax payments made in the last twelve months — the statute of limitations under State law. No application for a refund will be needed, and refunds will be mailed to businesses at their addresses in the City’s records within the next thirty to sixty days. Any business that received a business license tax bill or inquiry from the City’s contractor, HdL, does not need to pay or respond to it.
The City apologizes for this error and will work to make all refunds quickly.