In order to conform to the requirements of the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax (SST) Agreement and the definition of lease or rental, the Wisconsin Department of Revenue has made changes in the sales and use tax treatment of equipment provided with an operator. In general, effective October 1, 2009, when equipment is provided with an operator that does more than maintain, inspect, or set up the equipment and the operator is necessary for the equipment to perform in the manner for which it is designed, the transaction is considered to be a service and not a lease or rental of the equipment. Before October 1, 2009, when equipment was provided with an operator, the tax treatment of the transaction depended on who was responsible for the satisfactory completion of the job. For information on how this change specifically relates to: Leases and Rentals of Equipment, Equipment Used to Provide a Service and Service Contracts for Equipment please visit the department’s Web site at http://www.dor.state.wi.us/taxpro/news/index.html for the news release “Equipment Provided with Operator – Tax Treatment Changed.” (News for Tax Practitioners, Wisconsin Department of Revenue, December 4, 2009)