The Oregon Tax Court held that the state was not constitutionally prohibited from imposing its statewide 911 tax on an out-of-state VOIP service provider with no physical presence in the state. The court held that the 911 tax was not a sales or use tax because it was not measured by sales price (rather it
telecommunications
South Carolina Court of Appeals Sends Taxpayers Clear Signal; Rules DIRECTV Must Source Receipts Based on Satellite Signal Delivery
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Posted in Noteworthy Cases
By Dmitrii Gabrielov and Tim Gustafson
The South Carolina Court of Appeals held that all of DIRECTV’s South Carolina customer subscription receipts were properly sourced to the state for purposes of determining DIRECTV’s corporate income tax apportionment factor due to the location of its satellite signal delivery. South Carolina’s apportionment statute requires a taxpayer to…
Roam Where You Want To: City of Seattle Lacks Authority to Tax Foreign Roaming Charges
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Posted in Noteworthy Cases
By Maria Todorova and Suzanne Palms
The Washington Court of Appeals recently held that Seattle could not impose a utility tax on revenue derived from international roaming charges (charges for mobile telephone communications that originate in a foreign country). City of Seattle v. T-Mobile West Corp., No. 75423-8-1 (Wash. Ct. App. May 22, 2017)…
Six of One, Half a Dozen of the Other: Maine Supreme Judicial Court Holds Additional Charges for Telecommunications Services Exempt Before/After Statutory Amendment
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Posted in Noteworthy Cases
By Charles Capouet and Tim Gustafson
On June 15, 2017, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court held that property tax recovery charges and carrier cost recovery charges imposed by a telecommunications service provider of long distance telephone service on its customers were not subject to service provider tax for the tax years 2008 – 2010. The…
Maybe Next Season? Georgia Tax Bills Collapse in Last Day of Session
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Posted in Policy and Legislation, Southeast
The Georgia General Assembly passed significant tax legislation impacting selected industries, but failed to pass a number of broader tax bills:
- Passed legislation impacts telecommunications, film production and music production companies and causes the review of all income and sales and use tax exemptions.
- Stalled legislation included the reduction of the individual income tax rate,
…
It’s Not So Electric: Telecommunications Provider’s NYS Electricity Purchases Not Exempt Sales for Resale
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By Nicole Boutros and Scott Wright
A New York State Division of Tax Appeals administrative law judge (ALJ) determined that a telecommunications provider’s electricity purchases were not exempt from sales tax as sales for resale. In so doing, the ALJ rejected the taxpayer’s assertion that it resold electricity by incorporating it into its telecommunications services…
Bringing Broadband to the Boonies: Charge for Expanding Cable Network Exempt from New York Sales Tax
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Posted in New York, Uncategorized
By Evan Hamme and Tim Gustafson
The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance issued an advisory opinion exempting from New York state sales tax a charge the petitioner paid to a cable company to cover the cable company’s costs to expand its cable network to bring broadband Internet to the petitioner’s rural location.
California Legislative Committee Holds Informational Hearing on Lucent and Administering California’s Technology Transfer Agreement Law
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On January 30, 2017, the California Legislature Assembly Committee on Revenue and Taxation held an informational hearing on “Life after Lucent: Administering California’s Technology Transfer Agreement Law.” The California State Board of Equalization and the Board’s staff are currently wrestling with the meaning of the Technology Transfer Act provisions in sections 6011 and 6012…
NYC Administrative Law Judge Determines Long Distance Telecommunications Service Fees Exempt from Utility Tax
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On December 29, 2016, a New York City administrative law judge (ALJ) determined that Sprint’s long distance telecommunications service fees were exempt from the City’s Utility Tax. In the Matter of the Petitions of U.S. Sprint Communications Co., LP, TAT (H) 14-12 (UT) et al. Sutherland represented Sprint in the matter.
- The ALJ concluded
…
Web-Based Communication Interface Subject to Tennessee Sales and Use Tax
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Posted in Policy and Legislation, Southeast
By Jessica Allen and Jeff Friedman
The Tennessee Department of Revenue (Department) released a letter ruling stating that a taxpayer’s charges for use of its web-based interface are subject to sales and use tax as the sale of ancillary services. The taxpayer’s proprietary software allows users to communicate through text and other messages on a…