Section effective January 1, 2022.
(A) If a taxpayer fails or refuses to pay a business license tax by May first or, for business license taxes collected pursuant to Article 20, Chapter 9, Title 58 and Chapters 7 and 45, Title 38, the date on which the business license tax is due, the taxing jurisdiction business license official may serve notice of assessment of the business license tax due on the taxpayer by mail or personal service. Within thirty days after the date of postmark or personal service, a taxpayer may request, in writing with reasons stated, an adjustment of the assessment. An informal conference between the taxing jurisdiction business license official and the taxpayer must be held within fifteen days of the receipt of the request, at which time the taxpayer may present any information or documents in support of the requested adjustment. Within five days after the conference, the taxing jurisdiction business license official shall issue a notice of final assessment and serve the taxpayer by mail or personal service with the notice and provide a form for any further appeal of the assessment by the taxpayer.
(B) Within thirty days after the date of postmark or personal service, the taxpayer may appeal the notice of final assessment by filing the completed appeal form with the taxing jurisdiction business license official, by mail or personal service, and by paying to the taxing jurisdiction in protest at least eighty percent of the business license tax based on the final assessment. The appeal must be heard and determined by the taxing jurisdiction council or its designated appeals officer or appeals board. The taxing jurisdiction council or its designee shall provide the taxpayer with written notice of the hearing and with any rules of evidence or procedure prescribed by the taxing jurisdiction council or its designee. The hearing must be held within thirty days after receipt of the appeal form unless continued to another date by agreement of the parties. A hearing by the taxing jurisdiction council, its designee, or the appeals board must be held at a regular or special meeting of the taxing jurisdiction council or appeals board. At the appeals hearing, the taxpayer and the taxing jurisdiction have the right to be represented by counsel, to present testimony and evidence, and to cross-examine witnesses. The hearing must be recorded and must be transcribed at the expense of the party so requesting. The taxing jurisdiction council, its designee, or the appeals board shall decide the assessment by majority vote. The taxing jurisdiction council, its designee, the appeals board, or the designated appeals officer shall issue a written decision explaining the basis for the decision with findings of fact and conclusions and shall inform the taxpayer of the right to request a contested case hearing before the Administrative Law Court. The written decision must be filed with the taxing jurisdiction business license official and served on the taxpayer by mail or personal service. The decision is the final decision of the taxing jurisdiction on the assessment.
(C) Within thirty days after the date of postmark or personal service of the taxing jurisdiction's written decision on the assessment, a taxpayer may appeal the decision to the Administrative Law Court in accordance with the rules of the Administrative Law Court.
(D) For the purposes of this section, "business license official" means the officer, employee, or agent designated by the taxing jurisdiction as having primary responsibility for business licensing within the taxing jurisdiction.
HISTORY: 2020 Act No. 176 (H.4431), Section 2, eff January 1, 2022.
Editor's Note
2020 Act No. 176, Section 1, provides as follows:
"SECTION 1. This act may be cited as the 'South Carolina Business License Tax Standardization Act'."