The General Assembly’s passage of the Business License Tax Standardization Act, or Act 176, in 2020 has led to an ongoing effort for cities and towns to standardize their business licensing practices to the state requirements.
With the technical aspects of business licensing now a greater topic of discussion than ever before, the Municipal Association has updated and expanded its webpage that gathers together all of its business licensing resources.
Here are some of the page’s offerings:
- An explanation of state law – This includes the full text of Act 176 and a one-page summary of it.
- The Association’s primary training and guidance resources – Municipal staff throughout the state take advantage of the meetings and networking of the SC Business Licensing Officials Association. The Business License Handbook is a reference for every aspect of the process.
- Update schedules for the model business license ordinance and North American Industry Classification codes – Act 176 requires regular updates of all of these.
- Sample documents – This includes an appeals and assessment process, notices of assessment and appeal and the standard business license application.
- Training videos for the Local Business License Renewal Center – Act 176 requires local jurisdictions to use the online renewal portal.
- Resources for businesses – This includes frequently asked questions as well as list of those cities and counties that require a business license.
SC Business Licensing Officials Association
BLOA helps its members remedy issues associated with administering and enforcing the local business and professional license ordinances. BLOA offers the BLOA Training Institute, which is designed to improve the professional and administrative skills of business licensing officials. BLOA also hosts a Joint Academy with the SC Municipal Finance Officers, Clerks and Treasurers Association to explore topics relevant to both groups. BLOA also offers its members a listserve for business licensing officials around the state to ask questions and learn from one another.
Business Licensing Essentials
Local Revenue Services offers regular Business Licensing Essentials virtual training sessions for local officials to learn licensing practices and ask questions. The next session will take place August 20. Learn more and find recordings from previous sessions at the Business Licensing Essentials webpage.