SMYRNA, Ga. — Officials here are weighing changes to their licensing requirements for home-based businesses.
City officials began reviewing their license requirements for home-based businesses in at least January and made some progress during the first quarter. However, they blamed a slowing of the progress on the COVID-19 pandemic and the retirement of at least one city employee.
The city is looking to update what information it requires home-based business owners to submit as part of the licensing process, including a mandate neighbors sign off on the permit request. The city has renewed its interest following a request from at least one business owner in Smyrna.
Municipal officials point to legislation the Georgia General Assembly passed in 1993 to justify mandating home-based businesses have an occupational license. The city acted the following year to levy occupation taxes on local businesses.
However, they cannot offer more insight into why they require the licensing or what additional services they provide to home-based businesses. They note an LLC — even a single-member LLC with no employees — must register for a business license.
The same rules apply to businesses with one employee or hundreds of employees.