San Francisco, CA — Mayor London N. Breed and Treasurer José Cisneros today announced the City will continue to defer collection of Business Registration Fees and the Unified License Fees until March 1, 2021. Unified License Fees include charges from City departments to restaurants and food businesses, bars, convenience stores, many small retailers, hotels, tour operators, and other businesses. The previously announced deferral on business taxes for small businesses and additional supports for small businesses remain in place.

“Businesses in San Francisco continue to struggle with a loss of revenue and unfortunately we know that the COVID-19 pandemic isn’t going away any time soon,” said Mayor Breed. “When we initially issued the deferral of these fees, we were optimistic the situation would improve and businesses would be in a better financial position, but the lack of a coordinated federal response to the pandemic has only exacerbated the situation. Continuing to defer the collection of these fees will provide some relief for business as we keep working with them to help them stay afloat and take care of their employees.”

“I’ve heard from many businesses that were concerned about paying these bills by September 30^th. I am hopeful that further delaying collections of the business registration and license fees will provide some needed relief,” said Treasurer José Cisneros. “We will continue to work with businesses to find ways to lessen the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The measures Mayor Breed and Treasurer Cisneros announced today are the following:

Deferral of Business Registration Fee

The City will extend the 2020-2021 Business Registration Fee deadline to March 1, 2021. Business Registration Certificates issued for 2019-2020 will remain valid through March 1, 2021. In April 2020, Mayor Breed and Treasurer Cisneros announced an extension of the deadline to September 30, 2020 instead of May 31, 2020. Given that the situation with COVID-19 continues to be challenging for the City’s businesses, the City has decided to further extend the deadline.

Mayor Breed will be working with Treasurer Cisneros to notify businesses that they now have five additional months to file and pay the Business Registration Fee. Every business in San Francisco has to renew their registration annually. There are currently 93,000 registered businesses who pay nearly $49 million in Business Registration Fees.

Deferral of Business Licensing Fees

The City will provide regulatory fee relief for businesses by further delaying the City’s collection of the Unified License Fees until March 1, 2021. The Unified License Fees include, but are not limited to, charges to restaurants and food businesses, bars, convenience stores, many small retailers, hotels, and tour operators, from departments such as the Department of Public Health, Entertainment Commission, Fire Department, and Police Department. This impacts nearly $14 million billed to 11,000 businesses. In March, Mayor Breed announced an initial delay for the collection of the fee and in April further extended the deadline to September 30, 2020.

Mayor Breed’s other initiatives to support small business include:

• Business tax deferrals for small businesses with up to $10 million in gross receipts. Mayor Breed and Treasurer Cisneros notified small businesses that their first quarter businesses taxes can be deferred until February 2021. No interest payments, fees, or fines will accrue as a result of the deferral.
• $10 million Workers and Families First Paid Sick Leave Program, proving up to 40 hours of paid sick leave per employee.
• $9 million Emergency Loan Fund providing up to $50,000 in zero-interest loans for individual small businesses.

• $2.5 million Resiliency Grants providing up to $10,000 grants to over 300 small businesses.
• $1 million for Neighborhood Mini-Grants to Support 300 Small Businesses in Underserved Communities.
• $2.5 million in support for working artists and arts and cultural organizations financially impacted by COVID-19.
• Supporting nonprofits funded by the City so workers do not lose their incomes; 
• Issuing a Moratorium on Commercial Evictions for small and medium sized businesses that cannot afford to pay rent.

• Capping the commission at 15% on 3rd party food delivery companies; 
• Advocating for additional resources for small business and workers through the federal CARES Act.
• Establishing City Philanthropic www.Give2SF.org Fund, where donations will support housing stabilization, food security, and financial security for workers and small businesses impacted by coronavirus.
• Launching a one stop City website for businesses and workers seeking resources, contacts, and updates during the COVID-19 emergency: www.oewd.org/covid19. 

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