Durham County Tax Administration

Durham County Beer & Wine Privilege License

This is the mandatory Durham County business license for alcohol retailers, issued by the Tax Collector's Beer/Wine Division at 201 E. Main Street, 3rd Floor, Administration Bldg. II, 919-560-0300. G.S. 105-113.78 fixes the amount rather than capping it — the statute states the annual tax for each license flatly, with no 'not to exceed' language and no local discretion — and prints on-premises malt beverage $25.00, off-premises malt beverage $5.00, on-premises unfortified or fortified wine or both $25.00 and off-premises unfortified or fortified wine or both $25.00. County Code § 8-39 reproduces those four lines verbatim, and the county's own Beverage License Application prints 'Beer On Premises: $25.00 Wine On: $25.00 / Beer Off Premises: $5.00 Wine Off Premises: $25.00', so the statute, the ordinance and the county form agree exactly. The county's Privilege License page lists six rows by splitting unfortified from fortified wine, which read alone would suggest four separate $25 wine charges; both the statute and § 8-39 group unfortified and fortified wine into one $25.00 license per premises type, and the county's application and its License & Fees page print only four lines. G.S. 105-113.70(a) makes issuance mandatory once the applicant holds the corresponding ABC permit and provides a copy of the most recently completed State application form, the permit for visual inspection and payment of the prescribed tax, and the county page states 'You must be approved by the North Carolina ABC Commission before we issue a Durham County beer/wine license', with a notarised application and the ABC permit as the documents required. The county's application adds: 'If applicant possesses a State Permit, although he does not sell alcoholic beverages, he must purchase a County License.' Where the premises sits inside a city, G.S. 105-113.70(a) requires the city license for that activity first unless that city has declined under G.S. 105-113.71(c), which names only the Town of Cary — live here, because Cary holds territory inside Durham County; the City of Durham charges $30 on-premises and $15 off-premises for its own license. County Code § 8-27(f) is the source of non-refundability: 'A licensee who discontinues his business during the license year for any reason is not entitled to a refund.' Session Laws 2014-3, s. 12.3(b) repealed G.S. 153A-152, the county privilege license tax statute, effective July 1, 2015, and s. 12.3(a) repealed the city equivalent at G.S. 160A-211, but Article 2C of Chapter 105 was untouched, which is why this license survives as Durham County's one mandatory business license.