By Mike Kerman and Jonathan Feldman
The Florida Department of Revenue advised that certain materials and labor a taxpayer plans to use to construct a combined heating and power plant will be exempt from Florida sales and use tax. The plant will produce electricity for sale. Florida exempts purchases of machinery and equipment necessary to
exemption
New York State Tax Appeals Tribunal Holds that Pricing Information Services Are Taxable
By Jessica Eisenmenger and Jeffrey Friedman
The New York State Tax Appeals Tribunal sustained a determination by a Department of Taxation and Finance Administrative Law Judge that receipts obtained from the sale of retail pricing information services are subject to sales tax. Under New York law, information services are taxable, but services that are personal…
Temporary Storage, Long-Term Exemption: Illinois Department of Revenue Releases Ruling on Temporary Storage Exemption
By Charles Capouet and Eric Coffill
In Private Letter Ruling ST 15-0016-PLR, the Illinois Department of Revenue explained the application of the temporary storage exemption to the imposition of use tax on the in-state storage of equipment. Illinois’ temporary storage exemption applies where the property is acquired outside Illinois and, after a temporary stay in…
New Michigan Law Exempts Certain Data Center Equipment Purchases from Sales and Use Taxes as of January 1, 2016
By Evan Hamme and Charlie Kearns
Purchases of “data center equipment for assembly, use, or consumption in the operations of a qualified data center” on or after January 1, 2016, are exempt from Michigan sales and use tax. M.C.L. §§ 205.54ee, 205.94cc; see generally Notice Regarding Data Center Exemption, Feb. 5, 2016…
Georgia Still Showing No Interest: Georgia Department of Revenue Holds Hearing on Proposed Regulation Eliminating Refund Interest for Direct Pay Permit Holders
By Hanish Patel and Jonathan Feldman
The Georgia Department of Revenue held a public hearing on a proposed regulation amendment that would materially affect the use of direct pay permits in Georgia. The proposed regulation would cause all current permits to expire on December 31, 2016, and require all current holders to reapply and agree…
Look But Don’t Touch: Tennessee DOR Ruling Analyzes Web-Based Software and Service
Applying the “true object” test to the taxpayer’s web-based services, the Tennessee Department of Revenue ruled that charges for granting access to the taxpayer’s website for purposes of obtaining information would not be subject to sales tax. While the access to web-based services is tax-exempt as a sale of…
Victory for Transformers and Taxpayers: ALJ Holds “Step-up Transformers” Qualify for NY Sales Tax Production Exemption
By Hanish Patel and Open Weaver Banks
A New York Division of Tax Appeals Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) held that an electricity producer’s purchases, installations and repairs of “step-up transformers” were not subject to sales and use tax because the transformers were “used directly” in the production of electricity. Step-up transformers are used to “step…
A Win for Clean Energy: Court Holds Wind Turbine Exempt from Property Tax in Rhode Island
By Samantha Trencs and Madison Barnett
The Rhode Island Supreme Court held that a wind turbine owned by a non-utility private party was exempt from personal property tax under a manufacturing exemption because the turbine converted wind into electricity. The court rejected the taxing authority’s argument that the turbine was ineligible for the exemption because…
Call an Ambulance: Illinois Nonprofit Hospital Exemption Ruled Unconstitutional
By Mike Kerman and Maria Todorova
The Illinois Appellate Court held that a property tax exemption for nonprofit hospitals which provided certain services or subsidies equal in value to their estimated property tax liabilities was facially unconstitutional because it did not require exclusive charitable use of the property, as prescribed under the Illinois Constitution. Carle …
Electric Boogie: Wyoming BOE Denies Electric Utility Sales Tax Exemption
By Michael Penza and Todd Lard
The Wyoming Board of Equalization (BOE) held that purchases of chemicals by an electric utility operating coal-fired electric generation plants were subject to sales tax because the utility was not a manufacturer or a processor. The Board found that the utility was not a manufacturer because it did not…



