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Time To Change The Method Of Collecting The Occupational License Tax

Doug Belden, Hillsborough County Tax Collector, is working towards streamlining the method in which Occupational Licenses are issued, collected and categorized.  Currently, there are approximately 1291 categories for businesses, and a different fee is associated with each category.  Because there are so many various categories of businesses, issuing an Occupational License can be frustrating to the customer as well as the employees of the Tax Collector’s Office.

The newly proposed method would include only four categories of licenses: Regulated (which would cover businesses licensed by the State of Florida); Non-Regulated (which would cover businesses not licensed by the State of Florida); Regulated with Hazardous Waste Fee and Non-Regulated with Hazardous Waste Fee.  In addition, the fees for each of the four categories would be fixed amount, as opposed to the current fee schedule, which could change depending on, for example, the number of employees that work for the business.

The proposed change would not only benefit the customer and the Tax Collector employees, but Hillsborough County as a whole.  Seminole County implemented the new Occupational License collection method about one year ago, and has seen an increase in revenue due to the simplicity of obtaining a license.  Citrus County also recently adopted the new method of collection. 

The next step is to receive a favorable opinion from the Attorney General and approval from the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners to change the current ordinance, which would permit the Tax Collector’s Office to adopt the new method of collection.