As a Councilmember, I often assume the general public knows about city ordinances and requirements when, in fact, they do not. Such is the case with local business licenses.
If you are operating any business out of your home, you must obtain a business license. What this means is if you are using your home as a base to generate income, even on a part-time basis, a business license is required.
This applies to someone who works full-time from their home. It also applies to someone who sells kitchen products or scrapbooking materials on a part-time basis or even someone who does home repairs in Foster City.
It does not apply to someone who has a business office elsewhere where they work on a regular basis, but uses their home computer to merely check e-mail or work on a report on the weekend.
The way I analyze this issue is by asking two questions:
Do I generate income on the basis of work I perform out of my home or based on inventory I keep at my home?
If yes, do I have a business license either in Foster City or in another city where I maintain an office?
If no, then I may need to acquire a business license from the City in which I have my home where the income is generated.
I am troubled by the number of people who proudly tell me they are a business owner who has a business operation from their home. Yet, they seem clueless that a business license is required.
Another group of business owners that surprise me are home improvement contractors who do not have business licenses. A contractor who installs a fence or remodels a kitchen must have a business license as well as both zoning and building permits from the City.
Business license fees do three important things. They generate income for the City; the fees go to pay the business’ fair share of city services (police and fire); and, they create a fair and equitable system when compared to business license requirements in other cities.
I try to be honest in all my business dealings. I hope that those who have home based businesses or perform construction work in Foster City will be honest in their dealings with Foster City by having a current business license.
Councilmember Wilder can be reached via e-mail at dwilder@fostercity.org with your comments and questions.
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