Atlanta Police Crack Down on AmericasMart Vendors

Atlanta, GA, Oct. 21, 2009--Atlanta police inspected permanent showroom complex AmericasMart-Atlanta on Tuesday and cited dozens of business owners for operating without a license, according to Fox 5 Atlanta.

The city's CFO said at least 100 businesses at AmericasMart were operating without a license, costing the city thousands of dollars in revenue. Atlanta's COO Jim Glass said the revenue department found the discrepancy by comparing the databases of businesses operating in the city and the number of licenses that had been issued.

Those without a license are only a small percentage of the businesses at AmericasMart, which is home to more than 2,000 gift showrooms, plus apparel and rug resources. The cost of the license, or Business Tax Certificate, depends on the company’s gross revenue, and must be applied for every year as well as whenever the business changes hands.