Municipal Association of South Carolina

Act No. 8 of 2005 permits a business license rate of 1 percent (1.00%) on telecommunication companies.

The business license tax shall apply to the gross income derived from the sale of retail telecommunications services for the preceding calendar or fiscal year which either originate or terminate in the municipality and which are charged to a service address within the municipality regardless of where these amounts are billed or paid and on which a business license tax has not been paid to another municipality.

The gross income excludes taxes collected for any other governmental entity (i.e. 911, Access Fees, Sales Tax). The gross income of mobile telecommunications services shall include only revenues from the fixed monthly recurring charges of customers whose service address is within the boundaries of the municipality.

Reporting Instructions:

• The tax should be paid annually by January 1 with one check payable to "MASC Telecommunications Tax Collection Program." It is very important that your company's FCC 499 Filer ID appear on the check.
  
• Taxes paid after January 31, 2012 are subject to a 5% monthly penalty.
  
• Calculate the amount of tax due based on your 2011 gross income. Indicate on the Reporting Form the total tax due each municipality. Your company will be issued one business license identifying all municipalities for which business was conducted.

Note: If reported gross income is zero, the Reporting Form must still be signed and returned to ensure compliance.

For a new business operating less than one year, report an estimate of gross income for the remainder of the initial year. To determine the gross income for the next full license year of a new business, take the actual income for the portion of the first year in business and divide it by the number of months in business, then multiply that figure by twelve for a full-year estimate.

Note: If your company is a local exchange or competitive local exchange carrier and currently has a telecommunications franchise or contractual agreement with a municipality, the fee for the franchise or contractual agreement is in lieu of the business license tax and should be paid directly to the municipality.

Municipal Association of South Carolina 
Telecommunications Tax Collection Program (Lockbox)
PO Box 60489
Charlotte, NC 28260-0489

Electronic Filing Instructions
To file electronically, either provide information to MASC by email to TTCP@masc.sc or send a disk to MASC, PO Box 12109, Columbia, SC 29211. (Still send payments to the lockbox address indicated above.) When filing electronically, you are required to complete a certification statement. Please mail the 3.5" disk in an appropriate disk mailer. The label on the disk should include:

• Company name
• FCC 499 Filer ID
• Check amount
• Contact name
• Phone number

Instructions for downloading Excel Spreadsheet:
You may complete the form using Microsoft Excel 97 or higher version. Click on the link. MS Excel will open. Type your responses in the correct fields, remembering to save the file often. When the form is complete, save it a final time and attach it to an e-mail. The Municipal Association does not accept printed versions of the downloadable Excel Spreadsheet.

CSV file Reporting Form Instructions:
The CSV file layout is as follows: "Municipality," Gross Income"

Descriptions:

• Municipality - name of the participating municipality
• Gross Income - the amount of taxable income generated by the company for the municipality.

Forms/Reports:
Company Contact Sheet: Use to provide company contact information.

Reporting Forms: Use to report the gross income and taxes due each municipality.

• Printable (PDF)
• Downloadable (MS Excel 97 or higher version)

Certification Statement: When filing electronically, you are required to complete a certification statement.

The Municipal Association of South Carolina will only accept a breakout of gross income if provided on the MASC Reporting Form, MASC's downloadable Excel spreadsheet (MS Excel 97 or higher version) or in a CSV file. We regret we can no longer accept a breakout of gross income provided in any other format, including an “in-house” generated report.