Budget panel hears case to extend First Year Free small‑business fee waiver

The Budget and Finance Committee on March 5 heard a report on First Year Free, the city program that waives initial registration, permit, application and initial license fees for newly registering small businesses and new storefront locations.

Supervisor Steve Sherrill, who requested the hearing, said First Year Free was intended to make it easier to open and sustain small businesses in San Francisco. Amanda Free, Chief of Policy and Communications at the Treasurer's Office, and Katie Tang, Director of the Office of Small Business, presented program results and operational challenges to the three-member committee chaired by Supervisor Connie Chan.

The program has enrolled about 9,400 businesses since it began in November 2021 and has resulted in nearly $5 million in waived fees, presenters said. To qualify, a business must have $5 million or less in San Francisco gross receipts and a registered commercial location. The Treasurer's Office described an automatic enrollment workflow: businesses that complete the city—orm new business…