Opinion ID: 1836691
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Authorization for the License Fee

Text: Pursuant to the telephone-exchange ordinance, the City imposes a $12,000 license fee on entities that operate a telephone exchange or exchanges within the City of Montgomery. The ordinance does not define telephone exchange. The authority for the telephone-exchange ordinance is derived from § 11-51-90, Ala.Code 1975, which provides: (a) All municipalities shall have the following powers: (1) To license any exhibition, trade, business, vocation, occupation, or profession not prohibited by the Constitution or laws of the state which may be engaged in or carried on in the city or town. (2) To fix the amount of licenses.... . . . . . . . . (c) The power to license conferred by this division may be used in the exercise of the police power as well as for the purpose of raising revenue, or both. Additionally, § 11-51-128, Ala.Code 1975, establishes the maximum amount of license tax a municipality may assess annually upon any entity operating a telephone exchange within that municipality. Under this statute, a municipality with a population the size of the City may assess no more than $12,000 for a telephone-exchange license. Section 11-51-128 does not define telephone exchange.