Pelzer approves new business license fee

0
338

Pelzer Town Council held a public meeting Feb. 14 to provide information on a new business license fee.
Several business owners asked questions about the new business license ordinance during a public hearing held prior to the regular meeting.
Mayor Will Ragland said the new business license fee is designed to provide revenue for the general operations of the Town such as public safety, recreation, public space maintenance, streetlights, street maintenance, brush and leaf removal and administration.
The Town of Pelzer currently has no tax base for revenue.
Ragland said the business license rates are “very low” and “the rates can be changed.”
The new business license will go into effect on May 1. It is standardized across the state under the SC Business License Tax Standardization Act approved by the State General Assembly in 2020.
Under the State law, the standard due date is April 30 and a license year is May 1 – April 30.
The calculation is based on the gross income of the prior year.
For a new business, a business license form and associated fee must be completed and submitted before opening and the fee will be based on probable gross income.
Property owners who rent their property will also be required to have a business license.
Gross receipts or revenue will be based on business done within the municipality.
Contractors outside the town are required to have a business license before construction job begins.
The business license fee will be $20 up to the first $2,000 in gross revenue and then $1.50 per $1,000 after that.
First reading on the new business license fee was unanimously approved later in the regular Council meeting.