Nassau County demands new fee for permission to work

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by mr. magillicuddy

None of your post has anything to do the FEE for registering a business. Anyone can commit a crime and defraud people. Anywhere. The point is it costs NOTHING to register elsewhere and too much to do it here. You tell me which process encourages fraud. The free license or ridiculous profit killing red tape nanny state license? The license is what "protects" the taxpayer (although it really doesn't...the County does NOTHING regarding business complaints outside of real crime which might fall under the AG's jurisdiction. For bad business you are much better off dealing with the BBB). What it costs has no bearing at all. Business friendly = NO FEE. Adversarial attitude toward business = FEE. It doesn't help the tax base. We all know the fee goes to support the "fee collection" system. The same old LI ponzi scheme at work.

Read the OP. It was about previously unlicensed businesses being required to obtain licenses which are good for two year increments. Many of us have been doing this for years. More frustrating is when local munincipalities require additional licensing on top of the County licensing.

I don't know how you equate obtaining a license with registering a business. My initial business registration (dba) was through Suffolk (the county in which I live) and it carried a very minute filing fee. From there I obtained liability, workers comp and disability and then took the licensing tests in Suffolk and Nassau. At that point I received my licenses. When I became a corporation, that was done at the state level. EIN was issued at the Fed level.

Nassau can not require an already registered business to register there, too. They can require a registered business to obtain a license to operate -- which is what they are doing.

Are you going to be impacted by this? Do you own a business which now requires a license?

[mr. magillicuddy]

Respectfully, I don't know, I just find it to be a money grab. The license doesn't prove the entity is qualified and there is little if any recourse with the county over fraud (see a gazillion contractor horror stories). Licenses should be free (or nominal and I don't call $500 nominal) and the consumer should perform due diligence just as if any shmoe can get a license. Is the $500 supposed to make them more credible?

[qlty]

Originally Posted by annerk

Why should one type of business have to pay for a license while another doesn't? It's only fair to require them all to buy a license.

I don't think you realize how many small business and independant distributors that deliver food and other goods to retail stores so SMILE when prices go UP to cover another Gov. rule

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by mr. magillicuddy

Respectfully, I don't know, I just find it to be a money grab. The license doesn't prove the entity is qualified and there is little if any recourse with the county over fraud (see a gazillion contractor horror stories). Licenses should be free (or nominal and I don't call $500 nominal) and the consumer should perform due diligence just as if any shmoe can get a license. Is the $500 supposed to make them more credible?

Here is the law as it stood in Nassau County (changes haven't been made to the fee in this)
Nassau County, Long Island New York

I can appreciate your point that it seems like a money grab, but if licenses were free, how much more would the taxpayers be charged to support the Office of Consumer Affairs which handles licensing, goes after bad businesses, and protects the consumers? Who should the burden be upon: the business owner or should all of the taxpayers in Nassau subsidize business licenses?

The 'schmoe' going for the license has to be insured PRIOR to obtaining the license. That's a lot more than the $500 permit fee. Nassau County, Long Island New York


NYS requires haircutters to be licensed; the carpet installer, who could cause much more expensive damage, shouldn't be? (A few carpet installers have punctured radiant systems -- talk about a mess. At least hair grows back.)

Hiring an unlicensed contractor -- in any of the Home Improvement trades including carpet installers -- gives the consumer little to no recourse should things go wrong. Yes, the homeowner should perform due diligence. Still things can go wrong. Having licensed businesses gives the homeowners more protection as the County can more easily pursue a bad licensee as opposed to a non-licensed one. (And again, the license fee helps offset these costs.)

My licenses require me to maintain a certain level of liability insurance, workers comp, and disability. A homeowner can call Nassau County or look me up on their website to see if I am currently licensed as well as learn if there are any complaints against me -- online you may look back as far as 2007. This would be a part of performing due diligence. If my insurance were to lapse, the insurer would inform NC and I would be suspended until such a time as I could provide updated info.

This is what Nassau can do if unlicensed (or revoked licensed) operators are caught in Nassau:

http://www.nassaucountyny.gov/agenci...provement).pdf

FWIW Westchester does the same thing, even more strong armed.

One thing which some might not realize -- as most people are honest, law-abiding people -- is that licensing is one way that the State picks up on deadbeat parents via licensing -- saving the taxpayers more money.

[annerk]

Originally Posted by mr. magillicuddy

None of your post has anything to do the FEE for registering a business. Anyone can commit a crime and defraud people. Anywhere. The point is it costs NOTHING to register elsewhere and too much to do it here. You tell me which process encourages fraud. The free license or ridiculous profit killing red tape nanny state license? The license is what "protects" the taxpayer (although it really doesn't...the County does NOTHING regarding business complaints outside of real crime which might fall under the AG's jurisdiction. For bad business you are much better off dealing with the BBB). What it costs has no bearing at all. Business friendly = NO FEE. Adversarial attitude toward business = FEE. It doesn't help the tax base. We all know the fee goes to support the "fee collection" system. The same old LI ponzi scheme at work.

Not true. I live in a very pro-business county in another state, and you still have to pay for a business license. It's not $500 but it's not free, either.

[The Perfect Life]

Originally Posted by annerk

Not true. I live in a very pro-business county in another state, and you still have to pay for a business license. It's not $500 but it's not free, either.

License fees are far from the only thing making LI "business un-friendly" but it's another step in the wrong direction. Hundreds of threads on the decline of LI businesses and the reasons. You don't think your paying less AND being in a "very pro-business county" county are related?! Maybe you should advocate to pay more in your state.

[annerk]

Originally Posted by The Perfect Life

License fees are far from the only thing making LI "business un-friendly" but it's another step in the wrong direction. Hundreds of threads on the decline of LI businesses and the reasons. You don't think your paying less AND being in a "very pro-business county" county are related?! Maybe you should advocate to pay more in your state.

Two different points.

Point #1: Everyone doing business in an area needs to have a business license--there should be no picking and choosing based on the type of business they are.

Point #2: Businesses licenses are too expensive. That's your subjective opinion, and has nothing to do with requiring all businesses to have a license.

[Pequaman]

I'm more in agreement with Mr Magill on this than the county. Adding extra taxes to any business is not a good idea (have they seen hempstead tpke lately??). However, I think they're targeting the hundreds/thousands of landscaping businesses in Nassau, and gold dealers, laundromats, "home service" type businesses...cash businesses that most likely report little to no income. Good luck collecting that from most of the landscapers. Not sure how that's going to work out. $500 is steep IMO.