Grants Code Enforcement Office Focuses on Unregistered Businesses
GRANTS, N.M. – COVID-19 caused a number of changes in the way the world works, and that includes how many Americans earn money. During, and especially in this more laxed period of COVID-19 restrictions, many Americans opened small, local businesses. This is true of municipalities across the nation, and especially in Cibola County. The City of Grants is reminding residents who have a profitgenerating businesses to register with the city and start paying taxes.
Even Facebook businesses that sell jewelry or homemade crafts are considered businesses, and they must be registered with the city. This is for the safety of the seller and the consumer, and registering a business puts the owner in compliance with state and local law.
“We’re always happy about new businesses and we’re all abut expanding the economy in Grants,” Grants Code Enforcement Officer Robert Windhorst said, “We just want to make sure its being done lawfully.”
How to Register my Business
In the City of Grants, residents with businesses need to visit the Grants Code Enforcement Office at 523 W Santa Fe Avenue. The staff will assist business owners from there, supplying them with information on how to register and how to acquire the proper tax paperwork.
Grants Code Enforcer Robert Windhorst said that any venture which generates a stream of income must register as a business. This means that residents who hold a yard sale regularly to generate extra money would be considered a business, just like stalls at the Grants Farmer’s Market must also be registered as businesses.
Many businesses in Grants do not have a brick-and-mortar location, and are located in the digital world on social media. These businesses are not exempt from taxes, and must also register with the city. Facebook businesses include but are not limited to jewelry sales, baked goods sales and cleaning (house, yard, or other location) services.
Windhorst said that registering a business helps protect the wellbeing of the greater community and benefits the city, which in turns help pay for other important services.
Unregistered businesses will be given an opportunity to register after the first time the code enforcement office speaks to the business owner. If a business continues to operate without registration, it may face a $500 fine or jail time according to the city’s land use code.
Protecting the Community
Unregistered businesses carry significant risks, both for the business owner and the consumer. Windhorst explained that registered businesses will have all of the necessary permitting, and consumers can check to make sure that the business follows all of its health codes.
Windhorst explained the need to register a business by saying that registered businesses will have all the licenses they need, where a registered roofing company in grants would have the necessary permits to do roof work, an unregistered roofing company might not. By going with the unregistered company, any damages to the roof would fall solely on the consumer, or increase the likelihood of the consumer being scammed.
Businesses which sell food should be permitted, otherwise the city cannot account for the cleanliness of the kitchen. “No one wants to find a cat hair in food they order from a restaurant,” Windhorst joked.
Unregistered businesses may be a convenient way to generate additional revenue, but they may also pose a risk to the community. Unregistered businesses do not contribute to the tax pool, which ultimately helps the city grow.
The City of Grants is not “targeting” unregistered businesses, they are offering opportunities for businesses to be registered and contribute to the community. All the while, the code enforcement office is working to make sure that consumers within the city do not get scammed or injured during transactions with unregistered businesses.
“We all pay lots of taxes,” Windhorst said, “No one likes it, but we need to. It’s our civic duty.”
Visit 523 W Santa Fe Avenue in Grants to learn more about registering your business.