On December 2, 2004, the Des Moines City Council adopted Ordinance No. 1354 requiring businesses whose principal place of business is outside the City of Des Moines and conducting business activities within the City limits to obtain a City of Des Moines business license. The fee for this license was set at $25 by Resolution No. 984.
The business registration process provides a business with the City of Des Moines’s sales tax code of 1709. When a business sells merchandise or provides services that are taxable as retail sales, the business collects from the customer the sales taxes and remits them on their state excise tax return identifying the City by this code where the business activities occurred. The registration process educates the business of the City’s sales tax code in order for the City to receive its share of the sales taxes that the business collected from its customers. Citizens benefit as well since sales tax revenues pay for essential public services such as police and street maintenance.