I am in the same situation as Johnston-Tyler. All my business is done in San Diego, I am paying annual fees in SD. But hdl explained, I was considered a service company located in MV. I never had intentions to avoid getting a local business licence, but thought I didn't need to. I ended up paying a huge fine, for honestly stating the year when my business in SD started. This seems a ridiculous way of penny pinching when big companies as stated in the article are getting away with no licences.

They should really be focused on policing the licensed businesses who continue to break the law like selling guns to people who shouldn't have them. The professor that was shot and killed the other day by guns that were "legally purchased." What this means is that since existing laws are so weak and enforcement of those few are rarely done, the term "legally purchased" simply means that no crime was detected, not that no crime existed.

If we are going to collect the fees to fund investigations, enforcement and auditing, then let's get to it!