Tennessee Bill Clarifies Definition of “”Telecommunications Service.””

In an amendment to Senate Bill 2310, the Tennessee General Assembly has provided a new definition of “telecommunications service.” Effective July 1, 2007, “telecommunication service” is defined as “electronic transmission, conveyance, or routing of voice, data, audio, video, or any other information or signals to a point, or between or among points.” Not included in the definition are data processing and information services, the installation or maintenance of wiring on at the customer site, Internet access, advertising, and radio and television audio and video programming services, among other things. Also addressed in the amendment is the treatment of bundled transactions comprised of two or more services. According to the amendment, a bundled transaction that includes both taxable and nontaxable services is subject to tax, unless the portion of the transaction attributable to the nontaxable service can be identified in the retailer’s books. In that instance, only the portion attributable to the taxable service would be subject to tax. A similar rule applies to transactions that include services subject to different tax rates. The highest rate applies to the entire transaction unless the portion of the transaction belonging to the service taxed at a lower rate can be identified. (Tennessee General Assembly, Senate Bill 2310, effective July 1, 2007)

Posted on December 6, 2005