A taxpayer’s sales of call tracking services are not subject to Tennessee sales and use tax. The taxpayer collects and analyzes information pertaining to a retailer’s customers, advertising, and employee call handling skills. The call tracking services do not meet…
Air- to- Ground Telephone Calls Made in Illinois Subject to Telecommunications Tax.
Air-to-ground telephone calls made by airlines are subject to the Illinois Telecommunications Excise Tax when the calls originate or terminate on equipment that is located in Illinois at the time of the call and have a bill for services that…
Roaming Charges for Wireless Calls Made in Mexico Not Subject to Texas Sales Tax.
A telecommunications services provider’s roaming charges for when its Texas customers traveled to Mexico and placed or received calls that originated and terminated in Mexico, were not subject to Texas sales tax. The Mobile Telecommunications Sourcing Act (MTSA) provides a…
Indiana Updates Telecommunication Bulletin – Ancillary Services Exempt
An updated bulletin on telecommunications services, released by the Indiana Department of Revenue, highlights that ancillary services do not qualify as telecommunications services and are therefore not taxable. Pursuant to Indiana legislation, the definition of ancillary services means services that…
Indiana Information Bulletin Explains Taxability of Telecommunication Services
The Indiana Department of Revenue has issued an Information Bulletin explaining the taxability of telecommunications services.
Wyoming Clarifies Telecommunications Services Sourcing
The sourcing rules for ancillary services and prepaid wireless calling services are clarified in a policy statement issued by the Wyoming Department of Revenue. The sourcing rules for these two services were left out of the telecommunications sourcing rules adopted…
Mandatory Charges Related to Telecommunication Services are Taxable in Missouri
The Regulatory Cost Recovery Charge, the Federal Universal Service Charge, and the Municipal Gross Receipts Surcharge collected by a telephone company are mandatory charges subject to state and local sales tax. These charges and the tax are included on the…
South Dakota Amends Provisions Governing Imposition of Tax on Telecommunications Services and Ancillary Services
Effective July 1, 2009, South Dakota amends taxation provisions to specifically apply the state’s tax on gross receipts to all intrastate, interstate, and international telecommunications services that originate and terminate in South Dakota, or that originate or terminate in the…
Tennessee Taxability of DSL Services Discussed
The Tennessee Department of Revenue has issued a letter ruling explaining the taxability of DSL services. The letter clarified that the state does not impose sales and use tax on the retail sales of DSL Internet access services that are…
North Dakota Enacts Telecommunications Infrastructure Exemption
Tangible personal property used to construct or expand telecommunications service infrastructure in North Dakota is exempt form sales and use tax, effective July 1, 2009, through June 30, 2011. To be exempt, the tangible personal property must be incorporated into…
California Cell Phone Regulation Provided Safe Harbor from Unfair Competition Claims
The California Court of Appeals has upheld a trial courts decision that a taxpayer’s unfair competition and misleading advertisement claims against a telecommunication provider be dismissed. In compliance with the California Code of Regulation, providers selling cell phones at half-price…
Electricity Used to Power Telecommunications Equipment Taxable in New York
The New York Commissioner of Finance has upheld the Tax Appeals Tribunal\’s denial of a telecommunications service provider\’s claim for a refund of sales tax paid on…
New York Games and Sounds Sold by Mobile Telecom Provider Discussed
The New York Department of Taxation and Finance has issued an advisory opinion regarding the taxability of wallpaper, games, music, and sounds sold by a mobile telecommunications provider. The Department found that the receipts from the sales of these products…
Directory Assistance Company Did Not Qualify for Telco Exemptions in Arizona
A directory assistance company, who provided telephone customers with the phone numbers for requested listings on behalf of telecommunications companies, was denied a refund on its purchases of equipment.
Maryland Exempts Long-Distance Phone Carrier
A long-distance carrier company did not owe sales tax on its transmission of 900-number calls made in Maryland on behalf of information providers.
Electricity Used in Telecommunications is Taxable in Connecticut
Electricity used during wireless communications is subject to Connecticut sales and use taxes.
The Taxability of Prepaid Phone Cards is Discussed in Missouri
When a Missouri employee purchases prepaid calling cards, by way of payroll deductions, from an out- of- state calling card provider, the sale is subject to Missouri sales tax. There are no exceptions to this tax liability, therefore, it does…
Virginia Sales of Broadcasting Equipment and Services Exempt
An exemption from Virginia sales and use taxes is applicable to a taxpayer’s sales of broadcasting equipment and accessories to the extent such equipment is used directly in disseminating a signal into the air. However, equipment and accessories used to…
New York Judge Rules Enhanced Electronic Messaging Services Not Subject to Tax
New York Judge Rules Enhanced Electronic Messaging Services Not Subject to Tax
Sale of Equipment with Service is a Taxable Bundled Transaction in Louisiana
Louisiana has issued a letter ruling on two types of bundled transactions that involve the sale of equipment and wireless internet service. The letter ruling discusses two scenarios that involve a wireless internet service provider that requires customers to sign…
Mississippi Updates Telecommunications Service Rule
To be in compliance with the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax (SST) Agreement, the Mississippi sales and use tax rule on telecommunications services has been updated to conform to Senate Bill 2810, Laws 2007. Bill 2810 enacted provisions, definitions, and…
Nebraska Rules on Taxability of Telecommunications Services
The Nebraska State Tax Commissioner has ruled on a taxpayer’s question regarding the taxability of services associated with the installation or repair of telecommunications structures such as telephone, telegraph, mobile telephone or community television antennas. The Commissioner found that the…
New York Telecommunications Services Purchased by ISPs Exempt
A memorandum has been issued by the New York Department of Taxation and Finance regarding the state and local sales tax liabilities of telecommunications services purchased by an Internet Service Provider (“ISP”). As a result of a Tax Appeals Tribunal…
Kentucky Tax Due by Pay Phone Operator
The Kentucky Board of Tax Appeals held that a company that operated pay phones was providing communications services subject to Kentucky sales tax.