Communications

Property Tax

Communications companies—especially those in telecommunications, broadcasting, and cable—are often subject to unitary assessments and centralized valuation processes at the state level. These assessments cover tangible and intangible property across multiple jurisdictions, requiring a nuanced understanding of valuation standards, allocation methodologies, and audit triggers.

DMA helps communications providers navigate these complexities by delivering:

• A comprehensive assessment review and appeal service to challenge overvaluations and reduce liabilities
• Strategic guidance on unitary valuation methodologies and allocation factors
• Valuation planning for infrastructure buildouts, upgrades, and acquisitions
• Support during tax planning for mergers, divestitures, and network expansions

For companies with large, multi-state property holdings—including cell towers, fiber networks, data centers, and broadcast infrastructure—DMA’s Portfolio Management & Administration service provides centralized oversight of assessments, appeals, budgeting, and compliance tracking. This ensures consistency, tax transparency, and minimized exposure across the portfolio.

Transaction Tax

Our team delivers analysis and tailored research on transaction tax issues to support your tax administration efforts. Our transaction tax experts ensure compliance with multi-jurisdictional tax laws, providing actionable insights and detailed guidance to address complex tax scenarios often related to services, equipment, and bundled offerings. We help tax departments manage evolving tax laws around telecommunications, internet, and broadcasting services while ensuring compliance across multiple jurisdictions.

Site Selection & Expansion

Our experts go beyond securing broadband expansion credits, 5G infrastructure incentives, renewable energy integration tax credits, and telecommunications property tax incentives—we proactively negotiate customized incentive packages with government agencies to maximize your financial benefits. Whether expanding networks or developing new sites, DMA ensures you receive the best possible incentives to drive growth and profitability.

Fixed Asset Verification

Telecommunications and media companies often manage thousands of physical assets across broadcast facilities, data centers, cell towers, switching stations, and customer premises. Over time, rapid upgrades, asset transfers, and poor documentation can result in outdated or overstated asset records, increasing property tax exposure and audit risk.

DMA’s Asset Verification Service helps clients reconcile physical assets with their fixed asset ledgers—identifying ghost assets, correcting classifications, and aligning asset records with tax and financial reporting standards.

By improving asset accuracy, communications companies can reduce tax overpayments, strengthen audit readiness, and maintain better visibility across their distributed infrastructure.

Income Tax

Through our alliance with GTM, state income and franchise tax advisory experts help businesses reduce tax exposure, uncover savings, and stay compliant through tailored strategies like tax recovery, nexus studies, and minimization while identifying credits, incentives, and cost-saving opportunities.

Property Tax

Telecommunications and media companies are frequent targets of state and local property tax audits, especially where unitary assessments and intangible valuations are involved. The scale and complexity of these assessments—often spanning infrastructure in dozens of jurisdictions—can lead to inaccurate valuations, excessive allocations, and overlooked exemptions.

DMA’s Property Tax Audit Management service helps communications companies defend against audits and resolve disputes efficiently, ensure assessors are using accurate data and proper methodologies, and address misallocations and inconsistencies in unitary valuations.

We also conduct historical assessment reviews to uncover and recover overpayments related to outdated asset data, aggressive valuation approaches, or jurisdictional misapplications. Our specialists bring deep experience across both local and centrally assessed property, ensuring companies recover what they’ve overpaid—while minimizing future audit risk.

Transaction Tax

We identify and recover overpaid taxes while addressing inaccuracies and inefficiencies to mitigate future risk. Our comprehensive process provides detailed analysis, proactive solutions, and expert support to optimize recovery efforts and future compliance. For the communications industry, we often focus on recovering overpaid taxes related to telecom services, network infrastructure, and equipment purchases while addressing the complexities of exemptions, taxability, and jurisdictional issues unique to this fast-evolving sector.

Unclaimed Property Asset Recovery

DMA’s experts help recover unclaimed assets, such as outstanding customer refunds, uncashed vendor payments, and tax overpayments, from over 400 government entities. With a proven track record of reclaiming millions in dormant assets, we deliver substantial financial returns to strengthen your balance sheet and optimize cash flow.

 Income Tax

Through our alliance with GTM, state income and franchise tax audit and recovery services help businesses recover overpaid taxes, manage multi-state audits, and ensure compliance by identifying refund opportunities, handling audits, and minimizing assessments.

Property Tax

Communications companies face some of the most complex property tax compliance requirements in the country. Many assets—such as fiber networks, switching stations, towers, and broadcasting equipment—are subject to unitary or centrally assessed valuations, while others fall under local jurisdictional control. The result is a fragmented, high-risk compliance landscape that demands deep expertise and centralized oversight.

DMA’s Property Tax Compliance service ensures accurate, timely, and consistent filings across all applicable jurisdictions. Our experts:

• Prepare and submit unitary and local property tax returns
• Monitor assessments and identify discrepancies
• Provide documentation to support audit readiness
• Forecast property tax liabilities and expenses in support of budget initiatives

By consolidating compliance activities and applying industry-specific valuation insight, DMA helps communications companies reduce tax risk, ensure consistency, and improve overall tax performance.

Transaction Tax

Our Transaction Tax Compliance service offers a complete solution for preparing and filing monthly transaction tax returns. With a US-based, centralized compliance center and a team of jurisdiction-specific experts, we ensure accurate, timely filings while acting as a seamless extension of your tax department. For our communications industry clients, we handle the intricacies of tax compliance for telecom, internet, and broadcasting services, ensuring accurate treatment of multi-jurisdictional taxes and staying ahead of regulatory changes that impact your operations.

Income Tax

Through our alliance with GTM, state income and franchise tax compliance services simplify state tax obligations for communications companies. From tax filings and nexus studies to voluntary disclosures, we help reduce tax liabilities and ensure compliance—allowing your team to focus on growth and service innovation.

Unclaimed Property

DMA’s Unclaimed Property Compliance service simplifies the complex reporting process for communications companies. We manage the entire process—from customized compliance calendars to handling state notices—ensuring accurate reporting and timely remittance. Partnering with us reduces the risk of audits, penalties, and reputational damage while ensuring full compliance with unclaimed property regulations.

The right technology and processes can transform your tax function, ensuring accuracy, efficiency, and scalability. DMA’s tax technology experts provide end-to-end solutions, including:

Tax System Optimization

Our technology experts assess and enhance existing transaction tax systems to improve accuracy and streamline processes.

Tax Software Selection & Implementation

DMA helps businesses identify the best-fit transaction tax software solution and ensures seamless integration with existing systems. Our experienced team provides a comprehensive, unbiased evaluation, tailored implementation, and optimization to maximize the benefits of automation and align with your evolving business needs.

Exemption Certificate Management

We help clients automate the management of exemption certificates  to reduce manual errors and ensure compliance.

Custom Software Solutions

Our experts design and implement tailored solutions to meet your transaction tax requirements, including tools for data analysis, reporting, and automation.

Ongoing Maintenance and Enhancements

Keep your transaction tax technology systems optimized, scalable, and aligned with regulatory changes by utilizing DMA’s Managed Tax Services.

Simplify Unclaimed Property

DMA’s AUPTC software automates unclaimed property compliance from property tracking and due diligence to customer refund processing and reporting. Our solution streamlines workflows, enhances accuracy, and ensures timely compliance. Built-in reminders and email notifications help you meet deadlines and reduce audit risks with ease.