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Name change should foil fraudulent contractors
Since July 1, the state Department of Business and Professional Regulation has received 791 complaints about unlicensed construction activity. "It's been a problem for years," said Richard Hickok, executive director of the Constructions Trade Quality Board for the city of Jacksonville. Hickok said properly licensed contractors must post bonds so consumers can seek compensation for shoddy work.
Name change should foil fraudulent contractors
A 'license tax certificate' will now be known as a 'business tax receipt,' so it can no longer be used to falsify licensure
January 25, 2007
By DAVID BAUERLEIN
,
The Times-Union
Savvy consumers know to find out whether a construction contractor is licensed before hiring them.
But state officials fear some have been fooled by unqualified contractors passing themselves off as licensed by flashing an occupational license tax certificate (a piece of paper that has nothing to do with education or experience).
State officials hope smoking out unscrupulous contractors will be as easy as a name change.
As of Jan. 1, local governments across the state no longer issue occupational license tax certificates. Instead, those certificates are being called "business tax receipts."
Duval County Tax Collector Mike Hogan said the name change more accurately describes the purpose of the fee, in which businesses simply paid a fee and received a receipt.
Unlicensed contractors have used their occupational license tax certificates to claim they were licensed in construction work, Hogan said.
"It could lead to some pretty rotten individuals who would hold themselves out to be licensed contractors," Hogan said.
Since July 1, the state Department of Business and Professional Regulation has received 791 complaints about unlicensed construction activity.
"It's been a problem for years," said Richard Hickok, executive director of the Constructions Trade Quality Board for the city of Jacksonville.
Hickok said properly licensed contractors must post bonds so consumers can seek compensation for shoddy work. In addition, licensed contractors must maintain liability, property damage and worker compensation insurance. If an unlicensed contractor fails to carry the insurance, the consumer could be liable for the medical bills of workers injured on the job. Further, building inspectors cannot check work done by unlicensed contractors.
The push to change the name of the occupational tax license gained steam after unlicensed contractors flocked to hurricane-damaged parts of Florida in recent years, Nassau County Tax Collector John Drew said.
State law gives counties and cities the authority to impose the business tax, but not all counties have it. For instance, Clay County does not have the tax, but Duval, Nassau and St. Johns do. Consumers who want to make sure they're hiring a qualified contractor should ask for a certified contractor's license, according to the Florida Attorney General's Office. Those licenses are issued by the state Department of Business and Professional Regulation or, in some cases, from the county or city in which the contractor does work. Consumers who want to be on the safe side can use the license number to check with the state or local government to ensure the contractor is in good standing.
Though most types of contracting require state licenses, there are some exceptions, such as cabinets, countertops, flooring, painting, wallpaper and window treatments, according to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation.
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