PUBLIC NOTICE
Columbia, SC (September 17, 2013) — Taxpayers are encouraged to be patient in making a decision about the continued credit monitoring services offered by any vendor, including Experian, until they have an opportunity to evaluate the services the state will cover and soon make available.
The state Budget and Control Board is in the process of reviewing bids and a formal announcement will be made next week as to which vendor was chosen to offer credit and identification protection. The vendor will work alongside the state of South Carolina to promote and educate the public on the protection service.
The final details of the state provided protection service will be in place by October 24, 2013, prior to any taxpayer coverage lapsing.
DOR Director Bill Blume stated, “It is our goal to protect the private information of South Carolina citizens, and we want to ensure that individuals are aware of the state provided credit and identity theft protection available for a second year.”
Individuals are still covered through Experian for one year from their date of enrollment. In addition, those citizens who choose to purchase their own protection have the ability to deduct a portion of that cost from their state income taxes.
Experian credit protection will expire for South Carolina taxpayers 12 months from their initial enrollment date.
Individuals can visit www.sctax.org to stay up to date on the latest information available on credit protection for South Carolina taxpayers.
Columbia, SC (July 17, 2013) — The popular Sales Tax Holiday weekend in South Carolina will take place Friday, August 2 at 12:01 am and continue through Sunday, August 4 at midnight.
During the 14th Annual Sales Tax Holiday, shoppers will benefit from an exemption of the 6% state sales tax and any applicable local taxes on the purchase of school supply items. In addition to shoppers saving approximately $3 million over the course of the weekend, the Sales Tax Holiday also benefits in-state businesses by encouraging taxpayers to do their back-to-school shopping in South Carolina.
During this time, taxes will not be imposed on items such as clothing, shoes, school supplies, book bags, computers, printers, bedspreads and linens.
Nonexempt items during the weekend include the sale of jewelry, cosmetics, eyewear, furniture, or items placed on layaway. With the growing popularity of computer tablets, portable devices that have computing functions which allow users to access multiple software applications are considered computers and are therefore tax-exempt, provided they do not allow users to make telephone calls.
For more information about this year’s Sales Tax Holiday, including a sample list of exempt and nonexempt items, visit the SC Department of Revenue website, www.sctax.org, under the “What’s New” section.
Columbia, SC (March 14, 2013) — The March 31, 2013 deadline to enroll with Experian’s ProtectMyID credit monitoring service is fast approaching and the SC Department of Revenue (DOR) is reminding taxpayers to sign up either online or by phone for the one-year, free service.
Individuals who have not already enrolled with ProtectMyID are urged to do so before the March 31, 2013 deadline by visiting www.protectmyid.com/scdor and entering the code “SCDOR123” or by calling 1-866-578-5422, if you do not have internet access. “We encourage consumers to take advantage of all of the free tools available to mitigate the effects of the DOR breach,” said Carrie Grube Lybarker, Administrator of the SC Department of Consumer Affairs.
ProtectMyID is designed to detect, protect and resolve potential identity theft, and includes daily monitoring of all three credit bureaus. With the complimentary one-year enrollment, individuals will be alerted to any changes to his or her credit file, and will also have access to fraud resolution agents beyond the enrollment period.
The ProtectMyID one-year enrollment includes:
According to DOR Director Bill Blume, “With approximately 1.3 million individuals currently enrolled with Experian’s ProtectMyID, DOR continues to encourage all South Carolina taxpayers to sign up before the March 31 deadline, and those who have already enrolled are urged to advise family members and friends to enroll as well. ProtectMyID is offered as a free service to best monitor their credit files. The representatives with both the Department of Consumer Affairs and ProtectMyID are proven partners with DOR and are willing to assist all taxpayers.”
Upon enrollment with ProtectMyID, taxpayers who claim minors as dependents should receive notification from Experian by email or letter with instructions on how to sign up minors for Experian’s Family Secure plan. The enrollment deadline for Family Secure is May 31, 2013.
For more information on protecting yourself against identity theft, visit the Department of Consumer Affair’s website at www.consumer.sc.gov or call 1-800-922-1594. Information related to the security breach can be found on DOR’s website at www.sctax.org.
You may also contact Tax On Wheels, LLC at 803 732-4288 if you need assistance with Identity Theft issues surrounding your tax returns.
Columbia, SC (February 22, 2013) — Friday, a Sumter County resident was arrested and charged with failure to file South Carolina income tax returns for a five year period.
According to investigators with the SC Department of Revenue, Rebecca Duncan, 58, failed to file tax returns for years 2006 through 2010. During this time, Duncan earned a gross income exceeding $500,000, and therefore has a state tax liability of approximately $24,000.
If convicted of the five charges, Duncan could face up to five years in prison and/or up to $50,000 in fines.
Duncan is currently being held at the Sumter-Lee Regional Detention Center and awaiting a bond hearing. The Sumter County Sheriff’s Department assisted with the arrest.
A New York Times article describing a cyber espionage unit, allegedly affiliated with the Chinese Army, that has made significant efforts towards infiltrating the computer networks of anything in the US that can be penetrated. The article is apparently based on a report released by Mandiant Corporation (PDF).
The New York Times article does not draw a direct line between the Chinese government and the South Carolina Department of Revenue hacking incident, but you do the math and see what you get.
Columbia, SC (February 8, 2013) — Whether picking up tax forms or meeting with a representative, the Department of Revenue is reminding taxpayers to visit the agency’s Main Office location at 300A Outlet Pointe Boulevard in Columbia.
In December 2012, the Department of Revenue’s Main Office in Columbia opened its doors to the public at its new location on Outlet Pointe Boulevard located off of Bush River Road. Previously, the Department was located in downtown Columbia at 301 Gervais Street.
With additional Taxpayer Assistance Offices located statewide in Charleston, Florence, Greenville, Myrtle Beach and Rock Hill, Department of Revenue personnel are ready to assist individuals Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
To find the nearest Taxpayer Assistance Office in your area, contact the Department of Revenue at (803) 898-5000 or visit www.sctax.org.
Tax On Wheels, LLC received the following message from the South Carolina Department of Revenue and we pass it along for your consideration.
Tax Professionals: Encourage Electronic Filing This Tax Season
The South Carolina Department of Revenue places the highest priority on safeguarding taxpayer information entrusted to it by all taxpayers. The electronic filing of tax returns with the Department has always been, and will remain, a safe, secure and efficient means of filing.
In light of the recent computer security breach, it is important to note that no data was lost in the transmission of tax information upon submission to or from the Department. Confidential information that was stored on the Department’s computer servers was hacked into and then stolen in a criminal act.
Since this incident, measures have been taken to heighten the protection of confidential data so as to avoid future security compromises, and upon recommendations from cyber-security experts, additional security safeguards have been implemented and will continue to be further established in the future.
Taxpayers are safe and secure in filing their state tax returns electronically as it is the most efficient means of filing for taxpayers. As tax professionals, you are aware that with electronic filing comes many advantages for the taxpayer including receiving a refund in a shorter amount of time as well as less opportunity for errors.
Throughout the individual income tax filing season, information will be provided to the public as it is available. Our goal is to keep taxpayers informed and aware of any helpful information regarding the filing of tax returns and ensure to the public that filing electronically with the Department is secure. Current information that may be useful throughout the individual income tax season is available online at www.sctax.org under the “Individual Income” link.
Security safeguard measure implemented to aid in the prevention of tax fraud
Columbia, SC (February 11, 2013) — New for 2013, the SC Department of Revenue (DOR) has implemented a security safeguard measure to help prevent fraud-related individual income tax filings.
Through the security program, income tax returns filed in 2013 will be processed by means of a new security safeguard measure in order to insure no fraudulent activity. For tax returns that are questionable, DOR will mail the taxpayer a letter asking for additional information in order to complete the processing of the return. The letter will detail instructions for the taxpayer to either go online or to call DOR in order to answer questions specific to the individual. Once this process has been successfully completed, the tax refund will be issued to the individual.
The goal of the security program is to protect taxpayers from fraud by individuals filing tax returns in a legitimate taxpayer’s name. Additionally, DOR has implemented the program in an effort to decrease the number of fraudulent tax returns and, subsequently, decrease the issuance of fraudulent tax refunds.
Income tax filing
In keeping with filing dates of the Internal Revenue Service, DOR opened the 2013 electronic filing season for processing on January 30. It is the goal of DOR to assure taxpayers that filing electronically is and has always been a secure method, and taxpayers should continue to utilize this means of filing as it is more efficient than filing paper returns.
It would appear that the South Carolina Department of Revenue has reconstituted its efforts at arresting those who seem to struggle with following state tax law. You may recall that the SCDOR was on a bit of a roll locking up tax cheats up until the recent unpleasantness regarding data hacking of private taxpayer information. Apparently the SCDOR is no longer distracted and has returned to keeping the streets safe from tax scofflaws. Their latest press release follows.
Columbia, SC (February 8, 2013) — Tracy Renay Williams was arrested today by investigators from the SC Department of Revenue for 12 counts of tax related charges.
Williams, 35, is charged with four counts of forgery, four counts of assisting in the preparation of a fraudulent tax return, and four counts of conspiracy; he is currently being held at the J. Reuben Long Detention Center in Conway awaiting a bond hearing.
For the 2011 tax year, Williams provided fraudulent W2 forms to individuals in order to have income tax returns prepared in each of their names. Williams willfully assisted in the preparation of the fraudulent tax returns which resulted in the individuals requesting tax refunds totaling over $32,000, to which they were not entitled.
Williams, a Green Sea resident, could face up to 60 years in prison and/or up to $22,000 in fines if convicted of the 12 charges.
This is the latest arrest by the SC Department of Revenue in part of an ongoing investigation in the Horry County area. A string of other arrests have previously occurred in relation to the investigation, and more arrests are expected.
Columbia, SC (February 8, 2013) — Whether picking up tax forms or meeting with a representative, the Department of Revenue is reminding taxpayers to visit the agency’s Main Office location at 300A Outlet Pointe Boulevard in Columbia.
In December 2012, the Department of Revenue’s Main Office in Columbia opened its doors to the public at its new location on Outlet Pointe Boulevard located off of Bush River Road. Previously, the Department was located in downtown Columbia at 301 Gervais Street.
With additional Taxpayer Assistance Offices located statewide in Charleston, Florence, Greenville, Myrtle Beach and Rock Hill, Department of Revenue personnel are ready to assist individuals Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
To find the nearest Taxpayer Assistance Office in your area, contact the Department of Revenue at (803) 898-5000 or visit www.sctax.org.
Tax On Wheels, LLC can frequently assist your forms and many other South Carolina tax needs. Just give us a call at 803 732-4288.