“We can be the best city in America when it comes to starting and running a small business.” — Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx
Um, no. Not if this new site represents the city of Charlotte’s best effort at being small business friendly. First, there is still no way to apply online for a business privilege license. Oh, you can print out a PDF and then mail a check or money order to the tax collector — cash or money order if you are street merchant.
Then there is the sheer overkill of the complexity of the fees the city and county levy on businesses for no good reason other than they can.
An actual business-friendly locale would levy a flat $25 license fee — which would only exist to serve as a marker for which businesses should be collecting retail sales taxes and could be denied to those with a history of fraud and criminal activity. And you could pay the fee online — via PayPal.
