telecommunications

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On January 29, 2025, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania held that a telecommunications company’s “non-voice” private line services were subject to the state’s gross receipts tax (GRT). The taxpayer described its services as offering “a dedicated, uninterrupted communications channel” by which their customers could “securely … and continuously transport voice, video and/or data as packets…

The Louisiana Board of Tax Appeals granted summary judgment to the taxpayer, holding that its sale of video-on-demand and pay-per-view are not subject to sales tax. A group of local parishes assessed the taxpayer on the theory that video-on-demand and pay-per-view are tangible personal property because the content was “perceptible to the senses,” and the…

The California Court of Appeal for the Third Appellate District held that the purchase of “discounted” cell phones bundled together with wireless services requires payment of sales tax based on the cell phone’s full price.

Plaintiffs purchased cell phones at a reduced cost, together with wireless services, in a “bundled transaction.” The bundled transaction included…

The Alabama Court of Civil Appeals affirmed the trial court’s decision and held that retroactive application of the 2014 revisions to the “prepaid telephone calling card” provision of the Tax Code were unconstitutional as applied to the taxpayer. Taxpayer, an authorized dealer for Boost Mobile (“Boost”), sold Boost prepaid wireless-service plans to customers, but did…

This week, Eversheds Sutherland Partners Liz Cha, Maria Todorova and Eric Tresh will participate in panel sessions during TeleStrategies’ 2023 Communications Taxation Conference in New Orleans, LA. The conference addresses the challenging and complex domain of telecommunications taxation, regulatory compliance and fees.

On May 4, Liz and Eric will provide an update on key litigation…

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that the City of Reno was not entitled to file a lawsuit against streaming video providers for franchise fee payments. Reno sought damages for the streaming services providers’ alleged failure to collect franchise fees under Nevada’s Video Service Law. The court held that the law…

The Louisiana Court of Appeal, Second Circuit ruled that a city franchise fee imposed on a telecommunications company was discriminatory in violation of the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 (the “Act”) where the fee was charged to a taxpayer pursuant to a bilateral contract but not charged to the taxpayer’s competitor.

The city brought a…

The Georgia Court of Appeals held that a group of telecommunications dealers that were AT&T subsidiaries (collectively “AT&T”) had standing to challenge the Georgia Department of Revenue’s (“DOR”) denial of sales tax refund claims.  Effective May 5, 2009, O.C.G.A. §§ 48-2-35 and 48-2-35.1 were amended to provide standing for “dealers” to file refund claims on…

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]…

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…