The Washington Court of Appeals held that a company’s collection of data from electric and natural gas meters constituted data processing services exempt from the retail sales tax. The taxpayer collected data from meters used by an energy company’s customers, converted the data into a usable form, and transmitted the data to the energy company
primary use
Colorado Backs Up Backup: DOR Concludes Backup Service Non-Taxable Sale of Computer Software
The Colorado Department of Revenue has determined that an information technology provider’s sale of its backup service, which allowed its customers to back up business applications, files, and systems, and also included the delivery of computer servers to customers’ locations, constituted a nontaxable service. Although the Department “considered whether the placement of [the] servers constitut[ed]…
No Double Dipping: Nebraska Supreme Court Upholds Sales Tax On Telecom. Construction Company’s Purchases of Materials and Sales of Construction Services Using Materials
The Nebraska Supreme Court held that a telecommunications construction company was liable for sales taxes on both its purchases of construction materials to build telecommunications infrastructure and for its subsequent sales of services installing and constructing the same telecommunications property.
Nebraska law requires a construction contractor to make an election as to whether it will…
Virginia Supreme Court Holds City’s Consumer Utility Tax Did Not Apply to Natural Gas Consumed by Power Company
By Hanish Patel and Eric Coffill
The Supreme Court of Virginia held that a city could not impose its consumer utility tax on the natural gas consumed by an electric power company solely for the purpose of generating electricity. Virginia localities are authorized to impose the tax on consumers of natural gas provided by a…
Bills, Bills, Bills: Texas Court of Appeals Scrubs Bill Pay Service Provider Free of Sales Taxes
By Elizabeth Cha and Charlie Kearns
In Hegar v. CheckFree Serv. Corp., a Texas Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s decision and held that the taxpayer’s online bill pay service was not a taxable data processing service for Texas sales tax purposes. Based on the trial court’s uncontested factual findings, the taxpayer provided…