Normally, we think of losing business as what happens when we are rude to customers or sell them junk. Hendersonville City Council, however, is losing businesses because they steal away in the night or maybe come to town unannounced. Maybe they trade places. I dunno, but for whatever reason, the city needs to keep track of them. Behold!
The council last week approved the fee, which City Manager John Connet was as much about obtaining contact information for police, fire and emergency services as it was raising money. Although privilege license repeal barred cities from collecting tax based on a business’s sales, the School of Government in Chapel Hill advised that a different section in state statutes “might authorize a business registration system and a minimal registration fee that could help a local government keep track of businesses operating in its jurisdiction.”
