The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania reversed the Board of Finance and Revenue’s (Board) order, in part, and determined that when a retailer’s receipt separately states the coupon presented and sufficiently identifies the item to which the coupon applies, a taxpayer is only liable for sales tax based on the price as reduced by the coupon
Pennsylvania
Regulation De-construction: Pennsylvania Court Holds Statutory Amendment Superseded Regulation
On October 16, 2019, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court held that a bank was required to pay sales tax on its purchases of computer hardware, canned computer software, and related services because a statutory amendment superseded the bank’s relied-upon exemption regulation. The court held that the bank complied with the regulation, which exempted from sales tax…
Pennsylvania Freight Broker May Deduct Passed-Through Delivery Fees from Local Gross Receipts
The court held that the taxpayer, a freight broker, could deduct freight and delivery charges, which it received from its customers and remitted to third-party delivery providers, from gross receipts before calculating a city’s business privilege tax. A local regulation provides an exemption for freight delivery or transportation charges “paid by the seller for the…
Pennsylvania Rules Satellite Television Provider Must Source Receipts, Property Based on Subscriber Location
The Pennsylvania Board of Finance and Revenue recently published a decision regarding the sourcing of receipts and property of a satellite television provider. The Board held that the taxpayer’s receipts from sales of satellite television services were properly included in the taxpayer’s Pennsylvania numerator based on the location of subscribers in the state. The Board…
Pennsylvania Court Finds Wholesaler of Electricity Subject to Gross Receipts Tax
The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania affirmed a decision by the Board of Finance and Revenue that found American Electric Power Service Corporation (“Taxpayer”) was subject to Pennsylvania’s gross receipts tax as a wholesale seller of electricity. The Taxpayer presented two substantive arguments, both of which the Court found unconvincing. Taxpayer asserted that it was not…
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Finds Flat-Dollar NOL Cap Unconstitutional, But Upholds Percentage Cap
On October 18, 2017, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued its decision in Nextel Communications of the Mid-Atlantic, Inc. v. Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, in which the court held that the state’s flat $3 million cap on net operating loss carryforwards violates the state constitution’s Uniformity Clause. Key considerations from the case include:
- The $3
…
Pennsylvania Appeals Court Upholds Philadelphia Beverage Tax
By Jessica Eisenmenger and Open Weaver Banks
The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania upheld the Philadelphia Beverage Tax (PBT) against a challenge by the American Beverage Association and other challengers. The PBT imposes a 1.5¢ per fluid ounce tax on sugar-sweetened beverages and is generally payable by the distributor of the beverages. The court decided in…
A Chiropractor’s Delight: Taxpayer’s “PoP” Makes Internet Backbone Service Not Taxable in Pennsylvania (Again)
By Stephen Burroughs and Maria Todorova
The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania recently reaffirmed its decision that Level 3’s network infrastructure services (including local dial networks, telephone numbers and modems, i.e., Internet “backbone”) sold to retail Internet service providers (ISPs) constitute non-taxable Internet access services. The Commonwealth Court previously held that the taxpayer’s facility was an…
No Review for You: Pennsylvania Court Confirms No Jurisdiction to Review Letter Rulings
By Elizabeth Cha and Amy Nogid
Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court agreed with the Department of Revenue (Department) that the Department’s letter rulings addressing the taxability of actual transactions were not subject to review by the Board of Finance and Revenue (Board). Members of BJ’s Wholesale Club, Inc. (Taxpayers) alleged that they were due a refund of…
Bueller? Bueller? MTC Still Calling on States to Join ALAS Program
The Multistate Tax Commission advanced several items of interest during its annual fall meetings held in Charleston, South Carolina, this week, including the creation of a new committee to continue gathering support for its transfer pricing program.
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