Members of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen are trying to streamline how the city licenses and regulates businesses. But St. Louis’ license collector is strongly opposing some aspects of the legislation, contending it will drain the city’s coffers.
Alderman Lyda Krewson, D-28th Ward, and Alderman Scott Ogilvie, D-24th Ward, introduced three bills Friday, June 12. The first drops the cost of a one- or two-person business license from $200 to $25. The second makes it easier for small businesses to get home occupancy waivers. And the third is a massive overhaul of the city’s business code, eliminating what Krewson called “antiquated” statutes.
“The fact is, more and more people are engaged in some sort of self-employment, freelance work, part-time employment possibly outside of their full-time job,” Ogilvie said. “And we don’t want to be overly burdensome on those people who are just trying to earn a living.”
“The graduated business license tax in some instances is just the most regressive tax people are going to face,” he added. “Because it’s not scaled to your revenue or your income. It’s just a flat $200 fee.”
St. Louis License Collector Mavis Thompson, whose office collects license fees, opposes Krewson’s and Ogilvie’s efforts.
At a press conference on Friday, Thompson said slashing the one-to-two person business license fee from $200 to $25 would cost the city around $1.3 million. She emphasized that business license funds help pay for important city services, including police and fire departments, streets and the St. Louis Zoo.
“The statute says that all businesses have to be licensed,” Thompson said. “It’s a way of safeguarding the public. I don’t disagree that the policy for [one-to two-person businesses] needs to be reviewed but not as drastically as reducing the fees 87 percent and making a downfall of $1.3 million to the city. I do believe that the policy needs to be revisited – but not this extreme.”
Thompson said she wasn’t consulted about the legislation – except for when Krewson sent copies of the bills to her office earlier this week.
“I need to be consulted, so I can give my input,” Thompson said. “Who knows best but the license collector who actually sits and holds the office – and does the work every day?”
Asked about Thompson’s concerns regarding the reduction in business license fees, Krewson said: “We don’t want to run the city on the backs of small businesses.”
Disclosure: One of the authors of this story, Jason Rosenbaum, paid for a one-person business license in 2011 and 2012 in St. Louis.
Edited for length and reprinted with permission from news.stlpublicradio.org.
