Cream of the Crop 1/Cream of the Crop 1.iso/BUSINESS/SBA62.ARJ/FSBA.EXE/F254.SBE

Text File | 1992-04-30 | 7KB | 131 lines

@065 CHAP 11

           ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────┐
           │     LICENSING REQUIREMENTS FOR BUSINESSES     │
           └───────────────────────────────────────────────┘

           "Never forget that the bureaucrat who smiles when
            something has gone seriously wrong has already found
            someone to blame it on." -- Jenkins' Ninth Law of
            Business Survival

IN GENERAL.  Almost any kind of business activity you engage in will
require a city or county business license, which is usually fairly
simple to obtain.  In addition, a few kinds of businesses will have to
obtain licenses from the federal government to operate.  Many kinds of
businesses, occupations and professions are also licensed and regulated
by the state government.  While there are wide variations in the kind
and extent of requirements for obtaining necessary federal and state
licenses, these requirements usually relate to educational attainments,
experience in the particular field, passage of examinations, submission
of detailed applications, meeting financial or bonding requirements, or
some combination of the foregoing, plus payment (almost always) of a
licensing fee or tax.

Also, you need to be aware of certain local city or county permits that
you may have to obtain, such as from the county health department if
you will be in the food business, from the fire department if your bus-
iness may have large crowds on the premises (restaurants, theaters), or
various permits for construction, remodelling or zoning.  In some areas
you may also have to prepare an environmental impact report before you
can build or do other preparatory work.

FEDERAL LICENSING.  Some of the federal licensing requirements you may
encounter in different business activities include the following:

  __________________________________________________________________

             ACTIVITY                 FEDERAL REGULATORY AGENCY
  __________________________________________________________________

  Rendering investment advice     Securities and Exchange Commission

  Providing ground transport-     Interstate Commerce Commission
  ation as a common carrier

  Preparation of meat products    Food and Drug Administration

  Production of drugs or          Food and Drug Administration
  biological products

  Making tobacco products         Treasury Department, Bureau of
  or alcohol                      Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms

  Making or dealing in            Treasury Department, Bureau of
  firearms                        Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms

  Radio or television             Federal Communications Commission
  broadcasting
  __________________________________________________________________

@CODE: CA
In California, most businesses, occupations and professions are likely
to be licensed and administered by one of the many divisions of the
California Department of Consumer Affairs.  In addition, the State
Business and Transportation Agency licenses various financial institu-
tions through its Banking and Insurance departments; real estate firms
through the the Department of Real Estate; and the manufacture, dis-
tribution and sale of alcoholic beverages through its Department of
Alcoholic Beverage Control.  A number of activities are also regulated
by various state agencies other than Consumer Affairs or the Business
and Transportation Agency, as well.

Local business license taxes in California cities and counties are
often in the form of a flat fee or a percentage of payroll in.
However, many of the larger jurisdictions, including Los Angeles, San
Francisco, Sacramento, Oakland and Fresno, have adopted license taxes
based on the gross receipts of the business.  There are usually only
a few, limited deductions from "gross receipts," for purposes of
computing such taxes, such as "non-business income," like interest or
dividends or sale of business assets, and other items like federal
excise taxes.  Be sure you don't overlook any such deductions, which
may be important in reducing your local business taxes.

The tax rates imposed by local taxing jurisdictions for business
licenses often vary considerably, depending upon the type of business
involved.  For example, Los Angeles distinguishes between nearly 50
different types of business classifications.  Obviously, where there
is room for interpretation as to certain types of income of your
business, it can save you money to treat ambiguous items as a type
of income having a lower rate, if you have a choice, rather than a
type of gross receipts subject to a higher rate.

@CODE:OF
@CODE: NV
Nevada has enacted a new Business Privilege Tax, effective July 1,1991,
based on the average number of employees a company has, generally at
the rate of about $25 or $30 tax per employee per calendar quarter. You
may not conduct a business in Nevada unless you first obtain a business
license from the state Department of Taxation and pay a $25 fee.

@CODE:OF
@CODE: HI
The state of Hawaii has a bewildering number of licensing requirements
for businesses, occupations, and professions.  In addition to special-
ized activities like medicine, law, architecture, and the like, there
are also many more mundane businesses (such as cleaners and laundries,
travel agencies, etc.) that are also subject to special licensing re-
quirements.  Licensing fees may range from a few dollars to $1,000 or
more.  For specific information on licensing, contact the Hawaii Dept.
of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, on the first floor of the Kamamalu
Building, at 1010 Richards Street in Honolulu.  Phone:  [phone].
Or, go to the Hawaii Business Action Center (One-stop center for all
state permits at 1130 N. Nimitz Hwy., Suite A-254, in Honolulu).  From
Oahu, call the Business Action Center at:   1-808/543-6691; or, use
Neighbor Islands Toll Free Number:  1-800/468-4644

@CODE:OF
@CODE: DC
@CODE:EN
                   @STATE LICENSING REQUIREMENTS

The state also licenses a great number of business activities and pro-
fessions, as well as the obvious ones such as the medical, dental, and
legal professions, and various financial institutions.  If you feel
there is any possibility that the business you are entering or are en-
gaged in requires a state license to legally operate, contact one or
more of the major licensing agencies in the state capital for more
information on what may be required for your particular type of
business.