South Carolina Code of Laws
Chapter 9 - Telephone, Telegraph And Express Companies
Section 58-9-2220. Retail telecommunications services business license taxes; maximum rates.

Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary:
(1) A business license tax levied by a municipality upon retail telecommunications services for the years 1999 through the year 2003 shall not exceed three-tenths of one percent of 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 business license tax levied by a municipality upon retail telecommunications services for the year 2004 and every year thereafter shall not exceed the business license tax rate as established in Section 58-9-2220(2). For a business in operation for less than one year, the amount of business license tax authorized by this section must be computed based on a twelve-month projected income.
(2) The maximum business license tax that may be levied by a municipality on 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 for a business license tax year beginning after 2003 is one percent of gross income derived from the sale of retail telecommunication services.
(3) A business license tax levied by a municipality upon the retail telecommunications services provided by a telecommunications company must be levied in a competitively neutral and nondiscriminatory manner upon all providers of retail telecommunications services.
(4) The measurement of the amounts derived from the retail sale of telecommunications services does not include:
(a) an excise tax, sales tax, or similar tax, fee, or assessment levied by the United States or any state or local government including, but not limited to, emergency telephone surcharges, upon the purchase, sale, use, or consumption of a telecommunications service, which is permitted or required to be added to the purchase price of the service; and
(b) bad debts.
(5) A business license tax levied by a municipality upon a telecommunications company must be reported and remitted on an annual basis. The municipality may inspect the records of the telecommunications company as they relate to payments under this article.
(6) The measurement of the amounts derived from the retail sale of mobile telecommunications services shall include only revenues from the fixed monthly recurring charge of customers whose service address is within the boundaries of the municipality.
HISTORY: 1999 Act No. 112, Section 1, eff June 30, 1999; 2005 Act No. 8, Section 3, eff January 13, 2005.

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