City moderating proposed increases

Las Vegas is softening some of its proposed business license fee increases after facing opposition from the business community, which has been particularly critical of a provision that they say could devastate the owners of commercial properties.

The city has proposed that those who rent out commercial properties need to get business licenses, which is not currently required in the city but is required in Clark County's code.

"There's two people doing business," said Jim DiFiore, who manages the city's business services division. "The monies are going back to (the owner). He's getting that money on a rental or a lease on a monthly basis."

That point was not much in dispute at a hearing Friday to discuss the changes, but several people opposed basing the fee for that license on the gross rent collected by landlords.

For one thing, many commercial properties are losing money right now, said Soozi Jones Walker, a broker with Commercial Executives. They're being rented at below cost just to keep tenants in, she said, and imposing what she called "an income tax" would hurt those owners.

"The buildings aren't cash-flowing," she said. "It's going to have a negative impact."

She's also afraid of the impact a new fee would have on the expected wave of commercial property foreclosures, which remain a mystery because "the banks are afraid to pull up their skirts and show what's under there."

The city will consider charging a flat fee for the license instead of basing it on total rent collected.

The city had also proposed increasing the licensing fee rate for businesses that calculate their fee based on gross sales. That rate had been 0.00056, and the original ordinance raised that to 0.00075.

His office is now considering setting that rate at 0.00060, DiFiore said, "but that remains to be seen."

Contact reporter Alan Choate at achoate@reviewjournal.com or 702-229-6435.