The American Samoa Commerce Department director will, among other things, have the authority to set fees for business licenses through a rule making process under a bill submitted by governor Lolo Matalasi Moliga for the Fono's review and approval.
Lolo said local statutes governing the application for and renewal of business licenses were enacted in 1975 and only minor technical amendments have been made to date.
He noted that one of the goals of the new administration is to make American Samoa more business friendly in an effort to generate new business activity in the territory, and also to make doing business with the government more efficient for existing businesses.
The measure, which overhauls the four-decade old business license statutes, eliminates current provisions of the dealing with the different business license fees - including license fees for fundraising events like bingo.
The bill calls for the setting of fees through the rule making process under the direction of the Commerce Department director.
Another amendment proposed in the bill is that all business licenses shall be issued on a 12-month basis and expire one year from the date of issuance or renewal.
Lolo says this amendment makes the renewal process more efficient by spreading it out across 12 months and avoiding what is now a rush of business at year end.
