In a draft ruling today, the state of South Carolina reaffirmed it’s intention to not recognize same sex marriages. The preliminary draft ruling can be found here (PDF).
A marriage between one man and one woman is the only lawful domestic union that shall be valid or recognized in this state.
Since South Carolina tax calculations begin with federal taxable income, same sex spouses are presented with a bit of a dilemma when filing the state return. The state proceeds to provide guidance to those persons who qualify to file jointly for federal purposes but cannot file a joint South Carolina return.
Basically those persons are instructed to file the federal tax return in any way for which they are eligible to file for federal purposes, for example married filing jointly. Then those persons are instructed to create a second pro forma federal tax return to calculate each spouses share of income and deductions. This second pro forma return will not be filed with the federal government, but instead will be attached to the state return or retained as a worksheet to substantiate the entries on the state return.
Which all seems reasonably straight forward given the circumstances.
The question I have is how can the state survive a challenge to the constitutionality of this particular provision in light of the fact that the Defense of Marriage Act, which prohibited same sex marriages at the federal level, has fallen to constitutional defeat?
I guess we will all just have to stay tuned to find out.
Columbia, SC (October 24, 2013) — Starting today, South Carolina taxpayers impacted by last year’s security breach at the SC Department of Revenue are able to enroll for up to one year of identity and credit protection coverage with CSID by visiting www.scidprotection.com or by calling 855-880-2743. Enrollment will remain open until October 1, 2014.
“Eligible individuals are encouraged to enroll with this state-provided service to take advantage of the comprehensive array of identity and credit protections provided. CSID has a dedicated team working to ensure an overall successful enrollment process for the taxpayers of South Carolina,” said Department of Revenue Director Bill Blume.
South Carolina taxpayers, their dependents, and businesses who filed an electronic South Carolina tax return between 1998 and 2012 may be eligible for this coverage and are encouraged to enroll with CSID at www.scidprotection.com or by contacting CSID’s South Carolina Identity Protection Hotline at 855-880-2743, open 24-hours a day, seven days a week.
Enroll at SCIDprotection.com or by calling 855-880-2743
For more information, contact:
CSID
855-880-2743
Helen Murphy
INK Public Relations for CSID
512-382-8988
Learn More and Enroll at SCIDprotection.com or by calling 855-880-2743
Columbia, SC (October 15, 2013) — The State of South Carolina and CSID, a leading provider of global, enterprise-level identity protection and fraud detection technologies and solutions, today announced that taxpayers impacted by last years’ SC Department of Revenue security breach can begin enrolling in the state-provided identity protection coverage beginning October 24, 2013. Eligible taxpayers can sign up for the identity protection coverage through www.scidprotection.com or by calling 855-880-2743. Enrollment will remain open until October 1, 2014. CSID’s service will end on October 31, 2014, unless the State chooses to renew the contract.
“The goal of the State of South Carolina has been to provide the best in identity and credit protection, and that is what the taxpayers are getting with the comprehensive services of CSID. South Carolina and CSID will work to ensure taxpayers are aware of the state-provided services available, including not only in-state residents, but those residing out of state as well,” said Department of Revenue Director Bill Blume.
South Carolina residents will be provided with ongoing information about enrollment and eligibility through media and public announcements. This will include advertisements in local newspapers and magazines, on radio stations and via local news coverage. CSID will attempt to contact eligible persons living outside of South Carolina via mail.
“We highly encourage eligible South Carolina taxpayers to take advantage of CSID’s identity protection coverage to ensure the integrity of their families’ personal information” said CSID President, Joe Ross. “For any questions about eligibility or enrollment, citizens should keep an eye on local media and news coverage. We will share information through those venues and at www.scidprotection.com.”
Until CSID enrollment is open, taxpayers are encouraged to visit www.scidprotection.com for more information about the services provided, or contact CSID now at 855-880-2743 for more information and to leave a number for call back when enrollment becomes available.
For more information, contact:
CSID
855-880-2743
Helen Murphy
INK Public Relations for CSID
512-382-8988
Columbia, SC (October 8, 2013) — Eligible South Carolina taxpayers can sign up and receive state-provided identity protection coverage through CSID, at www.scidprotection.com or 855-880-2743, beginning October 24, 2013. The deadline to enroll is October 1, 2014.
Until CSID enrollment is open, taxpayers are encouraged to visit www.scidprotection.com for more information about the services provided. Additionally, taxpayers have the option to contact CSID now at 855-880-2743 for more information or for a representative to call the individual back for enrollment when it becomes available.
CSID, the leading provider of global, enterprise-level identity protection and fraud detection technologies and solutions, was selected to assist South Carolina taxpayers whose personal identifying information was potentially compromised during the Department of Revenue security breach in 2012.
“I applaud the state Budget and Control Board for selecting a vendor whose services offer comprehensive identity protection solutions for not only South Carolina individuals, but businesses as well. CSID’s services provide a range of credit and identity monitoring proven to cover potential identity theft, and we hope that all eligible taxpayers will take advantage of the state-provided service through CSID,” said DOR Director Bill Blume.
CSID’s identity protection is a comprehensive service to ensure the protection of an identity through credit and other identity monitoring. These services include credit monitoring from TransUnion, online black market internet surveillance, monitoring of court records and pay day loans, change of address alerts, as well as a Social Security number trace, sex offender monitoring, identity theft insurance and identity restoration.
Minor dependents, adult dependents, and businesses are also eligible for CSID enrollment beginning October 24, 2013.
“Data breaches continue to grow in frequency and severity of impact to both organizations and affected individuals,” said Joe Ross, president of CSID. “CSID offers a comprehensive array of identity protection solutions and services to assist in the mitigation of a data breach event. Our coverage will not only provide incremental identity theft protection for the impacted citizens of South Carolina, but we are also able to offer these services at a price that is cost-effective to the state.”
For more information or a list of frequently asked questions, please visit the DOR website at www.sctax.org/security.
For more information, contact:
CSID
855-880-2743
Helen Murphy
INK Public Relations for CSID
512-382-8988
Columbia, SC (October 4, 2013) — The South Carolina Budget and Control Board today announced that CSID, a leading provider of global enterprise-level identity protection and fraud detection technologies and solutions, has received the award to assist South Carolina taxpayers whose personal information was compromised during the 2012 Department of Revenue (DOR) security breach.
Eligible taxpayers will be able to enroll either online or over the phone with CSID’s state-provided identity protection coverage by no later than October 24, 2013. The deadline to enroll is October 1, 2014.
“I applaud the state Budget and Control Board for selecting a vendor whose services offer comprehensive identity protection solutions for not only South Carolina individuals, but businesses as well. CSID’s services provide a range of credit and identity monitoring proven to cover potential identity theft, and we hope that all eligible taxpayers will take advantage of the state-provided service through CSID,” said DOR Director Bill Blume.
In addition to comprehensive credit bureau monitoring, CSID offers specialized identity monitoring of events such as surveillance of internet and other media for use of personal identifying information. Black market identity monitoring provides internet surveillance to alert individuals if their identity has been stolen, allowing time to remediate before a fraudulent event can occur. If needed, CSID’s Identity Theft Restoration Services will restore the individual’s identity to a pre-compromised state and is available to all eligible individuals even if they have not enrolled with CSID.
Minor dependents, adult dependents, and businesses will be eligible for CSID enrollment no later than October 24, 2013.
In the coming weeks, CSID will launch an enrollment outreach plan to educate the taxpayers of South Carolina on the state-provided services available.
“Data breaches continue to grow in frequency and severity of impact to both organizations and affected individuals,” said Joe Ross, president of CSID. “CSID offers a comprehensive array of identity protection solutions and services to assist in the mitigation of a data breach event. Our coverage will not only provide incremental identity theft protection for the impacted citizens of South Carolina, but we are also able to offer these services at a price that is cost-effective to the state.”
For more information or a list of frequently asked questions, please visit the DOR website at www.sctax.org/security.
For more information, contact:
Helen Murphy
INK Public Relations for CSID
512.382.8988
Columbia, SC (September 23, 2013) — Budget and Control Board Director Marcia Adams today announced that after a competitive bid process, CSIdentity Corporation (CSID) has been awarded a contract to provide an additional year of free credit protection for eligible individuals.
Individuals whose information was potentially compromised in the Department of Revenue (DOR) security breach will be able to enroll in the credit protection and identity monitoring services provided by CSID on October 24, 2013. DOR and CSID will provide more details on the enrollment process in the upcoming weeks.
In addition to comprehensive credit bureau monitoring, CSID offers specialized identity monitoring of events such as surveillance of internet and other media for use of personal identifying information. Black market identity monitoring provides internet surveillance to alert individuals if their identity has been stolen, allowing time to remediate before a fraudulent event can occur. If needed, CSID’s Identity Theft Restoration Services will restore the individual’s identity to a pre-compromised state and is available to all eligible individuals even if they have not enrolled with CSID.
DOR Director Bill Blume stated, “As an agency, the Department of Revenue has taken precautions to ensure the data entrusted to us is processed in a safe and secure environment. We encourage all eligible individuals to continue to protect their personal identifying information by enrolling with CSID. In a world where technology is ever-evolving, CSID offers more than credit protection services by providing the added protection of identity theft monitoring and credit restoration to best protect the citizens of South Carolina.”
Credit and identity theft protection will be available for those eligible including minor dependents, adult dependents, and those with no credit history. Protection for eligible businesses will also be available through CSID.
Credit protection services provided by CSID will end on October 31, 2014, unless the state chooses to extend the CSID contract. Individuals who enrolled with Experian are still covered for one year from the date of their enrollment, and can enroll in CSID’s credit protection service while still enrolled with Experian.
CSID Background:
Headquartered in Austin, TX, CSID is the leading provider of global identity protection and fraud detection technologies for businesses, their employees and consumers.
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.