FTS bills the following when appropriate:

• State and Local (County, City, Special District) Sales Taxes
• State and Local Telecommunications Taxes
• E-911 Fees
• Gross Receipts Tax Surcharges
• Federal and State Universal Service Fund Surcharges
• State Regulatory Fees
• State and Local Right of Way Fees

Most of these charges are imposed directly on the customer and are collected and remitted by FTS as an agent for the taxing authority. Others are reimbursement of amounts paid by FTS.  All taxes, fees and surcharges are charged at their statutory rates by FTS and are not marked up in any manner.

All customers must pay state and local taxes for the states and cities in which the service is provided.

Tax and fee rates vary based on the service location, the service being purchased, and other variables. For example, the FUSF can be 17% or more. The combined state and local taxes can range from 0-17% or more.

Different taxes apply to different charge types depending on the laws in place in the state where the service is provided.  Although FTS can look up individual state and local rates applicable to a service, the sheer quantity of rates and product combinations makes it impossible to chart out a table easily.  Since most taxes are imposed directly on the customer, rates can be obtained directly from state and local tax authorities in the location your service is being provided.

FTS’s services are provided within the United States and are subject to federal, state and local taxes, fees and surcharges. U.S. tax laws apply taxes based on the location of the service.

All telecommunications providers that offer interstate and international voice and data, private line, directory assistance and other regulated services in the United States are required by the FCC to contribute to the FUSF. All retail customers currently purchasing interstate and international voice and data services are subject to the surcharge. Wholesale customers, those registered carriers that resell FTS services, may be exempt from the surcharge if they contribute to the FUSF directly. FCC regulations specify that carriers pay the FUSF charge on services sold to end users.  As such, resellers that are wholesale carrier customers may be exempted.

You can find more information about the Universal Service Fund at: www.fcc.gov/general/universal-service

In some situations, customers may be exempt from certain taxes and surcharges. This is usually in the case of customers who are reselling the services they purchase. Some customers can claim exemption as a charitable, government or religious organization. It is the customer‘s responsibility to advise FTS of its tax-exempt status and properly document that status. FTS will bill tax and surcharges until proper notice of exempt status and properly executed exemption documentation is provided.

Availability of the resale exemption from state and local taxes depends upon the customer being registered to collect and remit taxes in that state for telecommunications and/or sales tax. This is independent of the customer‘s registration with the FCC. For every state in which your company is registered, you must fill in your registration number for that state on an exemption certificate. The customer may be exempt from taxes in some states but not others, or not exempt in any state.

Customers may be exempt from paying FUSF to FTS if EACH of the following three requirements is met:

1. The Customer is registered with the FCC and has an FCC Filer ID
2. The Customer is shown as a ―Universal Service Fund Contributor‖ on the FCC‘s website at: http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgb/form499/499a.cfm
3. The customer signs and submits the FUSF exemption form.

You may direct other tax related questions to your FTS account team

Although FTS cannot provide tax advice to a third party, we will be happy to speak to your tax advisers if you have any questions.