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The Texas Comptroller ruled that the purchase of a battery system did not qualify for the manufacturing exemption from Texas sales and use taxes because it was used to store electricity, not manufacture it. The taxpayer operated a wind farm and began a project to participate in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas’ Fast-Responding Regulation…

The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts recently ruled that the physical presence nexus standard continues to apply for the Texas Franchise Tax, even after South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc., 585 U.S. ___ (2018). As a result, a California company whose only contacts with Texas were sales of digital products, software and e-commerce transaction processing and…

The Texas State Office of Administrative Hearings (“SOAH”) found that the receipts of a non-nexus member of a combined group (Company A) “should be deleted” from the computation of the group’s gross receipts for purposes of apportioning revenue to the state.  The group was in the business of franchising fast food restaurants.  On audit, the…

The Texas Comptroller ruled that, for Texas apportionment purposes, the sale for resale of mobile voice and data services, purchased from third-party mobile telecommunications carriers and sold to an out-of-state third-party retailer using the carrier’s network infrastructure, is characterized as the sale of telecommunications services and internet access services, respectively, not the sale of an…

By Nick Kump and Todd Lard

The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts has issued a private letter ruling finding that a Texas company’s revenue from sales of real-time payment risk and fraud prevention services should be sourced to the location of Taxpayer’s customers. In Texas, receipts from a service are sourced to the location where…

A recent US Supreme Court decision on surcharges strengthened taxpayers’ First Amendment rights when deciding how they present pass-through fees and taxes to their customers.

  • The Supreme Court held that a New York statute prohibiting a seller from imposing a credit surcharge was a speech regulation, subject to heightened scrutiny, because it regulates how retailers

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By Chelsea Marmor and Tim Gustafson

The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts issued a franchise tax letter clarifying that “total mileage” for purposes of computing the Texas special apportionment formula for transportation receipts may either include or exclude “empty miles” provided symmetry is maintained between a taxpayer’s numerator and denominator. “Empty miles,” or deadhead miles…

By Charles Capouet and Todd Lard

The Supreme Court of Texas held that an oil and gas exploration and production company’s purchases of casing, tubing, other well equipment, and associated services were not exempt from sales tax under various processing exemptions. Texas provides multiple exemptions from sales tax for certain tangible personal property related to…