Business License

[WhiteRoom]

For those of you that have business licenses, I have a question.  I got a license in my hometown (one suburb in a ring of suburbs). At the time I asked them if vendors from other nearby towns needed a business license to have accounts in our town.  They said no, that full line vendors were viewed as delivery of products and didn't need a local license to operate here.  They said that every town would be different.  So, as I start to locate in nearby towns, and read their websites on business licensing, some seem to read as if everyone and anyone doing business within the city limits needs a license, whether they are actually located in the town or not.

 

Question is, how many of you have a business license in a town other than the one your business is located in (office/wharehouse/garage whatever you are using)?  Have you even looked into the requirements in each town you have accounts in?  Or did you just get your local license and figure that was good?

[AZVendor]

I am in the Phoenix metro area and when I was in vending, I had a business license from the state and from Phoenix where my office and warehouse were located.  The cities here call it a Priviledge Tax license, basically sales tax.  All of the cities around the metro area require a separate license if you have a vending location in their city.  The way I did it was I got additional licenses only in two other cities where I had machines located in city buildings.  I knew that since they could see my machines on a daily basis it would only be a matter of time before the sales tax people asked about my license and my tax returns.  For the other cities, I didn't worry about it.  There was no way for them to know where I had machines located and at what addresses. 

 

Now that I operate my parts and repair business, I only have to have a license in the city I am based out of because I don't have any assets in any other cities. 

[moondog]

I am in the Phoenix metro area and when I was in vending, I had a business license from the state and from Phoenix where my office and warehouse were located.  The cities here call it a Priviledge Tax license, basically sales tax.  All of the cities around the metro area require a separate license if you have a vending location in their city.  The way I did it was I got additional licenses only in two other cities where I had machines located in city buildings.  I knew that since they could see my machines on a daily basis it would only be a matter of time before the sales tax people asked about my license and my tax returns.  For the other cities, I didn't worry about it.  There was no way for them to know where I had machines located and at what addresses. 

 

Now that I operate my parts and repair business, I only have to have a license in the city I am based out of because I don't have any assets in any other cities. 

 

Here in California, they track you down via your sales tax filings.  A lot of towns here have little adders to the state tax and we have to brake it all down to account for each one - a real pain in the "A" when filing the sales tax reports.  I had a marginal account a couple of years ago that I dumped after the local city hall tried to milk me for $200 (the straw that broke the camel's back).

 

Around here, you're in a different city about every three blocks, so I don't mess with any licenses other than the State Resale Certificate and the few places where I have a bigger presence.

[WhiteRoom]

I am really beginning to appreciate more and more living in a state with no sales tax.  Doubt it will last forever though.

 

Thanks for the ideas!

[SeaTurtle Vending]

In Florida it is broken down by county. You need a certificate for each county you do business in and have to pay quarterly sales tax to each individual county. It sucks, but it is what it is

[mission vending]

I am really beginning to appreciate more and more living in a state with no sales tax.  Doubt it will last forever though.

 

Thanks for the ideas!

 

 

I am much happier living in a state that has no INCOME TAX.