Business Licenses and Permits

As summer winds down, I anxiously await all the things I enjoy about autumn.  The start of hockey and football seasons, the fall breeze, greener landscape as the rain falls.  However, when spring comes around again, I’m sure I’ll face that annual decision of whether to drag my sprayer out of the garage, or contract …

E-Verify, a federal government database that businesses can use to determine if employees are legally in the United States, is growing in popularity.  Currently, 13 states use E-Verify to evaluate the immigration status of employees and more are considering jumping on board.  New Jersey is considering making E-Verify mandatory for businesses with 100 or more …

The city of Beverly Hills has strict regulations on food carts. Peddlers’ permits are required for employees in addition to health permits and business tax registration. The city also has restrictions on where you can park, for how long, and at what time. Food trucks can only park at any given location for up to …

Sometimes things are obvious and other times quite surprising. Logic tells most people that a business would need a license to sell alcohol. It is also likely these same people would be surprised to learn that you need a license to practice taxidermy as well.
The art of mounting dead animals for display (sport-hunted trophies) …

Operating without a business license is in many states considered a misdemeanor and can result in late fee charges, notices or closing of the business. The city of Riverside ordinance requires any entity doing business in the city, including entities with headquarters outside the city, to pay an annual business tax. Many business owners are …

Business creation in Nevada is down as the state has taking a severe beating from the ongoing recession.  New entity filings including incorporations, limited liability companies and partnerships have plummeted 25 percent over the last two years.
In 2008 there were 72,893 new entity filings. But in 2009 that number fell to 62,907, and through June …

In California it’s all about location. Businesses will almost always have business license fee obligations, but to which jurisdiction they are obliged to pay taxes to will depend on their business address.
Most communities and counties in California impose a business license tax that is often based on gross receipts. However, whether a business pays taxes …

Due to a state law that took effect at the beginning of the year, all city and county governments in Georgia must use the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program to verify immigration status before issuing a business license.  Cherokee County has been using the system for a little over a year and has …

Most Idaho cities large and small have a city business license requirement.  One exception is the City of St. Anthony, which is now considering creating a city business license.  The decision to consider the business license was made in part by citizen concern expressed about a mobile ice cream vendor operating in the city.  Another …

As a citizen of the left coast, the state of Florida is an interesting land.  Flying into most Florida cities, it appears the state is like the human body-largely comprised of water.  Like the question of whether a zebra is black with white stripes, or white with black stripes, it’s difficult to know whether Florida …