The Municipal Association of South Carolina recently published an updated business license class schedule, based on the most recent IRS data.
The class schedule is part of the Association's model business license ordinance, and adopting that ordinance is one of the key ways cities and towns can standardize their business license practices and demonstrate their commitment to business-friendly practices.
Some other improvements municipalities can make include being willing to accept the Association's standardized business license application; adopting the practice of calculating business license taxes on the previous calendar year or a business' prior fiscal year; and adopting a standard license year of May 1 – April 30, a standard license tax due date of April 30 and a standard penalty date of May 1.
The model ordinance can be found online, with a link to the class schedule appearing as Appendix B. Municipalities wanting to update the class schedule can do so through these steps:
- Review the new 2019 class schedule under Appendix B to determine if it will increase or decrease the amount of business license revenue generated in the city or town. This might happen because businesses may move into a different rate class and pay a different amount than they have previously.
- If the movement of businesses from one class to another significantly changes the amounts of revenue for the city, adjust the city's business license rate schedule, found in Appendix A, to prevent a significant revenue loss or gain.
- If adjustments are needed to the class schedule, the rate schedule or both, the city or town council will then need to adopt the changes by ordinance.