State Taxes and Fees
Learn more about the State Taxes and Fees you might find on your SmartLine receipt.
Communications Service Tax
The Communications Service Tax is a tax on end users who consume any sort of communication services.
Excise taxes
Excise taxes are imposed on telecommunications services and are virtually indistinguishable from a sales tax to the consumer. However, many excise taxes are considered part of the sale or gross receipts and are therefore taxed by sales and/or gross receipts taxes.
Franchise Tax
The Franchise Tax is imposed upon a telecommunications carrier for doing business.
North Carolina Telecommunications Sales Tax
The North Carolina Telecommunications Sales Tax is tax on the privilege of purchasing telecommunications services in North Carolina.
Optional Telecommunications Infrastructure Maintenance Fee
Optional Telecommunications Infrastructure Maintenance Fee is Similar to Telecommunications Infrastructure Maintenance Fee (TIMF) but applied only in the state of Illinois and at the option of the carrier for municipalities in Illinois who do not impose a local TIMF charge.
Oregon Residential Service Protection Fund (OR RSPF)
The Oregon Residential Service Protection Fund (OR RSPF) is a surcharge that funds the Telecommunications Relay Service, Telephone Assistance Program, and the Telecommunications Devices Access Program in the state of Oregon.
Poison Control Fund
The Poison Control Fund is used to establish and support a poison control center network that is statewide.
Police and Fire Protection Fee
The Police and Fire Protection Fee is a tax used to fund public safety services within a state.
Public Utility Commission(PUC)
The Public Utility Commission (PUC) fees are used to fund the Public Utility Commission or Public Service Commission.
Relay Missouri Surcharge
The Relay Missouri Surcharge is used to fund the state deaf and disabled fund only in the state of Missouri.
Sales Tax, Telecommunications Sales Tax, Communications sales tax
This is the sales tax that applies to telecommunications services based upon the jurisdiction that imposes the tax. Many states, counties, and localities have special sales taxes that apply to telecommunications. Typically, special telecommunication sales taxes override the normal state, county, and/or local sales tax. Sales taxes can be imposed on any part of the service that the jurisdiction specifies, including Interstate calls or access, or both interstate and intrastate. Sales tax can also be assessed on other fees such as TRS, USF, FCC Reg Fees or any others that the state specifies; this sort of behavior has become common for most states.
State Deaf and Disabled Fund
The State Deaf and Disabled Fund is used to provide access to telecommunications services for deaf and disabled individuals.
State Universal Service Fund
The State Universal Service Fund is similar to the Federal Universal Service Fund. However, the purpose of the fund depends upon the state.
Telecommunications Assistance Service Fund
The Telecommunications Assistance Service Fund is usually focused on helping low income and elderly telecommunication users. Typically, this charge is accessed as a per line charge on local lines.
Telecommunications Education Access Fund
The Telecommunications Education Access Fund is used to facilitate Internet access and related telecom services to qualified schools and libraries.
TelecommunicationsInfrastructure Maintenance Fee
The Telecommunications Infrastructure Maintenance Fee is used to fund the maintenance of telecommunications infrastructure. (network, switches, etc.).
Transit Tax
The Transit Tax is a specific state, county or local sales tax used to fund a transportation district or program. It is possible for the boundaries to overlap county and local jurisdictions if the Transit Tax is a district program.
Utility Users Tax (UUT)
The Utility Users Tax (UUT) is imposed on the consumption of utility services.