Philadelphia going after businesses that fail to renew licenses

Philadelphia is cracking down on business operating with expired licenses.

There are about 66,000 un-renewed business licenses in Philadelphia. Mayor Michael Nutter says the businesses should renew now.

“Those who do not voluntarily come into compliance will be inspected,” said Nutter. “If they are found to be operating without a license they will be forced to pay for the cost of the license along with interest and penalties or face being shut down.”

Licenses and Inspections Commissioner Fran Burns says her office has sent out the first warning notices with a 45 day grace period.

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“After those 45 days however if the license holder hasn’t renewed their license we will conduct an inspection and if you are operating a business and need to be licensed we will continue our enforcement to get you into compliance,” said Burns.

Burns says if all businesses complied, the city could get another three million dollars a year.

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