The Texas Comptroller adopted a proposed decision issued by an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) finding that a company owed sales tax on its sales of online gaming services to Texas residents. The company, who had at least one employee in Texas, developed and maintained online interactive social gaming experiences for its registered users, including those
Why a taxpayer’s carbon reactivation process is ineligible for Texas’ manufacturing sales tax exemption
A taxpayer’s spent carbon reactivation process did not qualify as “manufacturing” for the purposes of Texas’ manufacturing sales tax exemption, according to recently released guidance from the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. In a private letter ruling, the Comptroller holds that a taxpayer who operates a carbon reactivation plant is ineligible for the exemption because…
Texas Court of Appeals holds Hotel Consumables not Purchased for Resale
The Texas Court of Appeals held that a hotel owner was not entitled to a resale exemption for the hotel consumables it offered to its guests during their stay. Alamo National Building Management (“Alamo”) purchased items such as soap, lotion, cups and coffee, among other things, using a resale certificate. The items were not separately…
Wind Farm Battery System Not Eligible for Manufacturing Exemption in Texas
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…
Physical Presence Standard Still Applies for Texas Franchise Tax After Wayfair
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…
Texas Finds No Nexus in Texas for purposes of Apportioning Margin
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…
Texas Rules Sales for Resale of Mobile Voice and Data Services are Not Sales of Intangible Assets for Apportionment Purposes
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…
Texas Supreme Court Upholds Local Ad Valorem Tax on Stored Gas
By Jessie Eisenmenger and Jonathan Feldman
The Texas Supreme Court held that a non-discriminatory tax on stored gas held for future resale does not violate the Commerce Clause of the US Constitution. Harris County imposed an ad valorem tax on natural gas stored in the county on January 1 of the tax year. Applying the…
Texas Comptroller Finds Payment Risk and Fraud Prevention Solutions Should Be Apportioned as a Service
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…
US Supreme Court’s Ruling Bolsters Taxpayers’ First Amendment Right To Pass Through Fees (and Taxes)
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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