Effective July 1, 2021, Kentucky has enacted sales tax and utility gross receipts exemptions for certain transactions involving the commercial mining of cryptocurrency. The Kentucky DOR explained the two recently enacted bills here. HB 230 exempts the sale or purchase of electricity used or consumed in the commercial mining of cryptocurrency from sales tax and
utility
Pennsylvania Court Finds Wholesaler of Electricity Subject to Gross Receipts Tax
The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania affirmed a decision by the Board of Finance and Revenue that found American Electric Power Service Corporation (“Taxpayer”) was subject to Pennsylvania’s gross receipts tax as a wholesale seller of electricity. The Taxpayer presented two substantive arguments, both of which the Court found unconvincing. Taxpayer asserted that it was not…
Delaware Sewer and Water Authority Successfully Challenges Permit “Fee” as Disguised Tax
By Mike Kerman and Jonathan Feldman
The Delaware Chancery Court held that a town’s $27,000 building permit “fee” was in substance a tax that could not be levied against a tax-exempt water and sewer authority. The town assessed the fee upon the water and sewer authority before it would issue a permit to construct a…
It’s Not So Electric: Telecommunications Provider’s NYS Electricity Purchases Not Exempt Sales for Resale
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…
NYC Administrative Law Judge Determines Long Distance Telecommunications Service Fees Exempt from Utility Tax
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
…
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…
Purposeful By-Product: Louisiana Supreme Court Determines Purchases of Limestone Used in Electricity Generation Qualified for ‘Further Processing Exclusion’ Under Louisiana Sales & Use Tax
By Marc Simonetti and Douglas Upton
The Louisiana Supreme Court concluded that limestone purchased for the dual purpose of absorbing sulfur during the generation of electricity and producing ash for sale to third parties was excluded from the definition of a “sale at retail” by application of the “further processing exclusion” under the Louisiana sales…
New York Court Holds That Telecommunications Company Is Not a NYC Utility
By Jessica Eisenmenger and Todd Lard
The Supreme Court of the State of New York, New York County held that a telecommunications company was liable for both New York City’s Utility Tax and the City’s Unincorporated Business Tax (UBT) because the taxpayer was only lightly regulated by, rather than under the supervision of, the New…
Separated, But Not Separately Stated: Indiana Tax Court Holds Utility Receipts Tax Does Not Require Separate Statement of Nontaxable Receipts
By Nick Kump and Carley Roberts
The Indiana Tax Court held that the plain language of Indiana’s utility receipts tax (URT) does not require taxpayers to separately state taxable and nontaxable receipts on their returns. The URT provides that nontaxable receipts are taxable if such “receipts are not separated from the taxable receipts on the…
Victory for Transformers and Taxpayers: ALJ Holds “Step-up Transformers” Qualify for NY Sales Tax Production Exemption
By Hanish Patel and Open Weaver Banks
A New York Division of Tax Appeals Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) held that an electricity producer’s purchases, installations and repairs of “step-up transformers” were not subject to sales and use tax because the transformers were “used directly” in the production of electricity. Step-up transformers are used to “step…