TheROCK wrote: Actually state taxes on businesses are not overridden by city or county laws.
Nor are the requirements to register/license that business.
I will look up the MN law to enhance my knowledge but I haven't found a state yet that didn't require every business to registrar and receive a tax payer Id and even if they fail to follow them and report state and federal taxes for employees they still need a federal tax payer Id as well.
So yeah they can be shut down as unlicensed unrelated to massage certifications.
In MN (as in most states) you can run a business as a sole proprieter and not have to register anything if the business type itself does not require licensing. Taxes are then paid under the sole proprieter's SSN. If, however, you want to erect a sign and run under a fictitous business name, an LLC, etc. yes you have to register that business and file seperate tax forms under that business name and tax ID.
Many of these places in Minneapolis have no business name. They have no sign, and they have no tax ID. They put up a Backpage ad w/o any business name on it, just a phone number and/or email along with the promise of a good time. They simply run under sole proprieter . . . if they declare taxes at all. The city has no legal way to do anything about these business unless they can make a prostitution case. Taxes are state/federal jurisdiction so the question of taxes being paid are moot for the city.
I don't see their new ordinance putting a dent in this business, much. But it's good politics to say, "Massage is regulated in Minneapolis."
The new ordinance does give the city the right to walk into a massage parlor anytime they want and inspect a "licensed" massage business. But that right of inspecition is granted via the licensing process, not city/state law. When the business acquires a license, they sign an agreement allowing inspection w/o notice. But they don't have the right to walk into a closed room where a massage is being given w/o a warrant. So the city is still restricted some. And of course, most cities require a certain amount of training . . . certification. Minneapolis appears to have left that part out of the ordinance. Go figure! Untrained, uncertified people are allowed to give massage. What are they going to do to make the client happy when they can't give a good theraputic massage?