If you are thinking about applying for a TABC permit in Texas and are worried about the permit being protested or perhaps you are already applying and are being protested, what should you do? Unfortunately, Hernandez & Associates has seen protests of permits more than once. In this post, we will share our experiences.
We need to start out by setting the table by pointing out that a protest can take place at any time even after you get a TABC permit for your location in Texas. This means that it can take place at renewal or at the very beginning of the process. In the course of this post, we will cover why both may take place and what you can do. A protest of your TABC permit can take place at renewal time for a few reasons.
Below we will list them in no particular order:
- Comptroller of Public Account – The Comptroller is the Government entity that collects taxes. This is also the entity where you will be submitting your sales tax and franchise tax reports. If you have not filed your reports on time or any changes they will likely flag your account and notify TABC that they are protesting the permit until the account is up to date. The next scenario that the Comptroller can protest the account is if you owe back taxes. Back taxes are usually owed for a couple of reasons either you have not submitted reports and they estimated your tax due. If you are taking over a business entity, find out if there is a tax liability on their account before you close on that business.
- TABC – TABC can join the protest of a business if the business has been the subject of complaints or they have received violations. Please note even if previous mismanagement has taken place before your time at the business it could affect you (more on this later).
If your TABC permit is being protested once you are in business your future is not as grim as you might think. Usually, this can be resolved by contacting the organization that is protesting and paying what is owed or filing the necessary reports. If it is because of a violation that has occurred then you might be required to purchase additional bonds, however, in the case of violations it is going to be case by case as to what the outcome can be.
Now that you have an idea of some of the reasons that your business could potentially be protested even after you have gone into business let’s cover some of the reasons that it gets protested at the very beginning. Reasons are similar but different, let’s talk about what they could be:
- Comptroller – As mentioned before our friends at the comptroller can protest a business at the very beginning as well as during renewal. If you have other businesses that owe taxes this could affect your new application. This can be the case even if you have different entities for each business.
- Law Enforcement – This one comes up in the event that you are taking over a location that previously had issues. Check to see if the location you are taking over was known for illicit activities. This location is going to be marked even if you have a completely different concept and design.
- Residences – The local area around the business whenever they see that 60-day signposted they have the right to protest the TABC application. That is the purpose of this sign and it’s stated right on the sign. This happens more at the beginning of the application process.
Of course, these are not all of the reasons that you can be protested, there are many that we have not seen yet. These are simply the more common ones. As before if you are being protested by the Comptroller the suggestion is to get this account in good standing, they will usually tell you what it takes to do so.
Any time you are being protested by Residences, this one can be hit or miss. We have seen it where the client was able to work it out with the neighbors and they retracted their protest while in other scenarios this just wasn’t the case. This one is 50/50.
Finally, if you are being protested by any Law Enforcement due to previous clouds on the location for whatever reason. We would seriously suggest looking for another location. We have seen these take years to clear up. Hopefully, you can exercise the option to opt-out of a lease if possible if it is being protested by law enforcement. Just to remind you we are not attorneys but we can refer you to one that is familiar with TABC law.
Having your TABC permit protested happens more often than you would think in the more mild scenarios it works out just fine however it is always case by case what could happen.
If you would like to apply for a TABC permit or need to renew your permit in Texas Hernandez & Associates is your go-to license service ready to work for you. You can contact us using this link! Contact Us
Thank you for reading!
Sincerely, Hernandez & Associates
P.S. Check out our videos! Youtube Channel link