We have certain obligations for various contractual agreements to secure future rights to goods and services to be used in the normal course of our operations. These include purchase commitments for planned capital expenditures, agreements securing dedicated access and transport services, and service and support agreements.

As of December 31, 2021, future minimum contractual obligations and the estimated timing and effect the obligations will have on our liquidity and cash flows in future periods are as follows:

(1)	We have entered into service and maintenance agreements to support various computer hardware and software applications and certain equipment.

(2)	We have binding commitments with numerous suppliers for future capital expenditures.

(3)	We have entered into various non-cancelable rental agreements for certain facilities and equipment used in our operations.

Litigation, Regulatory Proceedings and Other Contingencies

Gross Receipts Tax

Two of our subsidiaries, Consolidated Communications of Pennsylvania Company LLC (“CCPA”) and Consolidated Communications Enterprise Services Inc. (“CCES”), have, at various times, received Assessment Notices and/or Audit Assessment Notices from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Revenue (“DOR”) increasing the amounts owed for the Pennsylvania Gross Receipts Tax, and have had audits performed for the tax years 2008 through 2018. We filed Petitions for Reassessment with the DOR’s Board of Appeals, contesting these audit assessments. These cases remain pending and are in various stages of appeal. We received notification that the DOR has started audits for the tax years 2019 and 2020.

In May 2017, we entered into an agreement to guarantee any potential liabilities to the DOR up to $5.0 million. We believe that certain of the DOR’s findings regarding CCPA’s and CCES’s additional tax liabilities for the tax years 2008 through 2018, for which we have filed appeals, continue to lack merit. However, in 2019, CCPA and CCES finalized a settlement of the intrastate and interstate tax liabilities for the tax years 2008 through 2013, except for the 2010 CCPA appeals, bringing the appeals to a conclusion. The additional tax liabilities calculated by the DOR for these tax years for CCPA and CCES were approximately $3.4 million and $4.0 million, respectively. The settlement resulted in a payment from us to the DOR of $2.1 million, including interest, which the Company previously reserved for.

The additional tax liabilities calculated by the DOR for CCPA and CCES for the remaining unsettled tax years 2010 (CCPA) and 2014 through 2018 (CCPA and CCES) are approximately $4.6 million and $2.6 million, respectively. Based on the initial settlement offers for the tax years 2008 through 2013 and the Company’s best estimate of the potential additional tax liabilities for the remaining unsettled tax years 2010 (CCPA) and 2014 through 2018 (CCPA and CCES), we have reserved $0.8 million and $1.6 million, including interest, for our CCPA and CCES subsidiaries, respectively. We expect the filings for the tax years 2014 through 2018 to be settled at a later date similar to the initial settlement. While we continue to believe a settlement of all remaining disputed claims is possible, we cannot anticipate at this time what the ultimate resolution of these cases will be, nor can we evaluate the likelihood of a favorable or unfavorable outcome or the potential losses (or gains) should such an outcome occur. We do not believe that the outcome of these claims will have a material adverse impact on our financial results or cash flows.

From time to time we may be involved in litigation that we believe is of the type common to companies in our industry, including regulatory issues. While the outcome of these claims cannot be predicted with certainty, we do not believe that the outcome of any of these legal matters will have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations, financial condition or cash flows.