like jsqfunk,
I found myself scratching my head over this $40,000 licensing fee, I cannot IMAGINE every bodega, and Dollar store having to kick that in. Neither can I imagine every food stand at the Newport Mall needing to add $40 G's to the exorbitant Simon rents.

Can someone quote chapter and verse on that item?

Must be very disappointing for Healy.........his goal should be to make JC No.1

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this is really shockingly high, i checked the jc government website but could not find a "retail licensing fee" can anyone explain what exactly this 40k is?

Congratulations, everyone!

I guess that helps explain why there is no manufacturing in Jersey City.

The business of Jersey City is crooked politics.

Given that it is the growth engine of this country taxing small business at this rate is of course the dumbest thing ever, but is this really that surprising given the lack of balance from a political/economic ideology standpoint in Jersey City? HCDO is running the show...time to replace the current members or vote with a different party (there are probably a total of 4 republicans in JC so the former probably makes more sense...)

I would settle for a modicum of decency and common sense.


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40K corruption fee, without even benefiting from it.

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Perhaps all elected officials and inspectors should have degrees in finance so they don't upset the apple cart of economics here in jersey City.

$40k to license a retail business? That is friggin insane!! It should be just enough to cover the paperwork or better... $0.

How much revenue has the city lost because business simply decided to go to other municipalities?

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AGAIN, WHERE THE F*** IS ALL THE MONEY GOING?

Jersey City and Newark among most expensive cities to run a business

Monday, October 04, 2010, 7:00 AM
Leslie Kwoh/The Star-Ledger

New Jersey has never been a bargain for businesses, but a new study ranks two of the state?s cities ? Jersey City and Newark ? among the 10 most expensive places in the nation to run a company.

The pair joins other such pricey towns as New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and San Francisco, according to the 16th annual Cost of Doing Business Survey by Claremont McKenna College in California.

In nearly all of the top 10 cities, a mid-size retailer must pay more than $10,000 a year just for business license fees, the report said.

The study looked at 413 cities across the nation and examined their licensing fees and property, utilities and sales taxes.

Being expensive isn?t a good distinction, especially during a time when struggling businesses might be thinking about relocating, said Brad Jensen, a researcher at the Rose Institute, which conducted the study.

"States that have low taxes usually have a competitive advantage over other states," Jensen said. "Obviously, there are a lot of factors to consider when moving your business to another state, but in this economy, it could be the thing that tips you over."

Neither Jersey City nor Newark is new to the list, and both have placed in the top 10 for several years running, Jensen said. To be fair, they are also the only New Jersey towns included in the study, which focuses more closely on California.

The study found Jersey City has the highest property tax rate of all cities, at 6 percent, and a retail licensing fee of $40,000. Newark has a property tax of just a little over 1 percent, and a licensing fee of $2,300 ? but it also charges a 1 percent payroll tax.

That?s compared to one of the best-performing cities, Austin, Texas, which boasts a low property tax rate and doesn?t levy any business taxes or fees. In fact, Texas is home to five of the 10 least-expensive cities in the nation, the report showed.

"Texas is a state that gets it," Jensen said. "They understand that if you want to provide government services, you have to balance how much you charge in fees and taxes, otherwise you?ll end up strangling the golden goose."

The 20 least-expensive cities are all located west of the Mississippi River, with the majority of them in states that don?t have a personal or corporate income tax. Overall, Texas, Washington and Oregon appear to be the strongest performers.

Leslie Kwoh: (973) 392-4147 or lkwoh@starledger.com