There was a small blurb on the Internet today: “New LA law cuts Internet business taxes.” Los Angeles has a gross receipts tax. When I was in the telecommunications industry, I relocated a business from Sherman Oaks (part of Los Angeles) to nearby Burbank (a separate city) to avoid this tax. Why pay additional money when there’s no need to?
When I started my business I chose Irvine because it’s a low tax environment (for California) with a strong pro-business climate. If I were in Los Angeles, I’d pay a business gross receipts tax at the highest percentage for Los Angeles. My City of Irvine business license costs $50 a year. I’d pay at least ten times that much in Los Angeles.
When you’re looking at where you locate your business take a look at local taxation. Burbank is less than ten miles from Sherman Oaks, but the taxation is quite different in the two locations.