Lodi unveils business license online portal [Video]

LODI, Calif. — Business owners in Lodi have a new way to apply for and renew their business licenses, but the city says it’s still trying to make things right for hundreds of people charged an illegal tax.

Last September, the city discovered the tax it was charging on business licenses since 1995 violated state law. It stopped issuing business licenses altogether and started automatically sending out nearly 4,700 checks to different businesses that paid the tax in the past year.

“That was the statute of limitations and that’s exactly what we paid out,” said Lodi Public Information Officer Nancy Sarieh. “We are definitely working with any businesses that may have not been paid. We have their checks and we are not planning on using that money for anything else other than helping them cash them.”

Lodi says it still …