Getting a refund for a business license fee you overpaid

(a) Legislative findings and declaration of intent. The council finds that: Whenever a business license fee has been paid improperly or paid under circumstances when it need not have been paid or otherwise paid in excess of the amount required by law and such payments have been either voluntary, involuntary, the result of a mistake of law or of fact, or any combination thereof, and the payor has derived no benefit from the payment of such fee, there exists a moral obligation on the part of the city to refund the payment or such amount as represents the illegal excess collected over that required by law. (b) Director of budget and fiscal services authorized to refund—when. Upon the written request of the payor received within six months from the date of the erroneous payment, the director may refund license fees or so much thereof as represents the illegal excess collected over the amount required to be collected by law or regulation when paid under the following conditions: when such fees need not have been paid but were in fact paid voluntarily or involuntarily, under a mistake as to the applicable law or mistake of fact; provided that the payor has not derived any benefit from the payment of the license fee. If such a benefit has been derived therefrom as in the case of a payment made pursuant to a law or regulation subsequently declared by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, only the amount of the fee, which when prorated over the term of the license represents the balance of the term for which the license fee was paid after the decision invalidating the law or regulation under which payment was made, shall be refunded; provided further, that notwithstanding the receipt of any benefits by the payor, payments made involuntarily as defined in subsection (d) shall be refunded in their entirety. (c) Limitations. The authority granted the director in subsection (b) shall not extend to the payment of any other claims based on an asserted moral obligation. (d) Involuntary payment. For the purposes of this article, involuntary payments shall be those payments made under protest to prevent interference with or the closing of the payor’s business or the arrest of such person. Similarly, payment made under the threat of force or procured by fraud shall be deemed involuntary. )