Wonder

Business Licenses in the United States

Delivered December 4, 2019. Contributor: Joseph M.

Goals

To find information that will facilitate the writing of informative blog posts on business licenses in the United States. 

Early Findings

Business LicensesAccording to Entrepreneur, a business license is a "legal document that grants you the right to operate a business in your city."
Business licenses are important because they help regulate businesses with the intention of protecting the general public. 
 In major cities across the United States, license bureaus are set up to control business locations in order to "keep people from operating an auto-repair business next door to a school or to keep people from running certain types of businesses from their homes."
 Examples of items  that most states/cities forbid from being manufactured from home include fireworks, drugs, poisons, explosives, and medical products.
Failure to comply to the licensing and permit requirements for the type of business one plans to start within a given jurisdiction might lead to additional fees, penalty payments or operational restrictions until conditions specified by the regulating authority have been met. 
The best way of getting information on business licenses is to contact a specific city's business license department.
Business License TypesIn the United State's business are generally required to have more than one license. 
There exists numerous business types that are specific to various industries. A list of different business types of various industries can be accessed in this website. 
Examples of business licenses required in various jurisdictions include general operating licenses, specialty licenses, and industry licenses.
In a more general perspective, business licenses are divided into state and federal licenses. 
Federal licenses and permits are issued by various agencies. For instance, federal business licenses in the agriculture sector are issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture while federal business licenses in the alcoholic beverages sector are issued by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau.
Major Cities in the United StatesThe major cities in the United States by population are New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago with populations of 8.4 million, 3.9 million, and 2.7 million in 2018. 
We will target research at this cities in the initial stages. 

Proposed next steps:

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For the cities of New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, we reccommend conducting additional research to identify cases where business licenses are required and exemptions, how often they need to be renewed and how much they cost, and how business licenses are different from other professional licenses required for specific types of businesses. We will also provide information on the tax implications of business licenses in the cities of New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago.

Additionally, we will also conduct research on the licenses that are most requested in major cities in the United States, penalties associated with business licenses in major cities, and the business license application and renewal process in major cities. The target major cities will be the cities of New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago.

We also recommend research on how business licenses apply to different types of businesses. For starters, we will tackle freelancers, gig economy drivers, and restaurants.