An Advisory Opinion is issued at the request of a person or
entity. It is limited to the facts set forth therein and is binding on the
Department only with respect to the person or entity to whom it is issued and
only if the person or entity fully and accurately describes all relevant facts.
An Advisory Opinion is based on the law, regulations, and Department policies in
effect as of the date the Opinion is issued or for the specific time period at
issue in the Opinion.
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Petitioner
2009
As announced in
August 2008, the Department has transferred responsibility for Advisory
Opinions from the Taxpayer Guidance Division to the Department's Office of
Counsel. Among other changes, the format of the Advisory Opinions issued by
the Office of Counsel will appear slightly different than the format used by
the Taxpayer Guidance Division. During the transition period, which began in
2008 and is scheduled to be completed in 2009, the Department will issue
Advisory Opinions in two formats. Those opinions issued by the Taxpayer
Guidance Division will continue in the previous format, while opinions
written by Office of Counsel will be issued in the revised format. One of
the most noticeable changes in format is that the opinions issued by the
Office of Counsel, for petitions received on or after August 8, 2008, will
not contain the petitioner’s name, address, or identification numbers when
posted on the Department's Web site. Both formats are official Advisory
Opinions, and all are binding on the Department with respect to the person
or entity to whom they are issued and the facts stated in the Opinion. For
more information on the transition and the procedures, see
TSB-M-08(10)C,
(5)I, (5)M, (3)R, (8)S, Changes in Procedures for Obtaining Guidance
from the Tax Department.
Whether purchases of waste disposal
services by a contractor in connection with its contract with a village in
New York to operate and maintain the village's waste treatment facilities
are subject to sales tax
Whether the service of providing a driver
to drive a customer's vehicle, without providing any vehicle, constitutes a
transportation service subject to sales tax under Tax Law §1105(c)(10)
Jones Day - Whether fees for (1) web
advertising services, (2) customer support services for web advertisers, and
(3) online applications that add functionality to advertisers' web sites are
subject to sales tax
Whether a cleaning and restoration business
that cleans buildings that have suffered smoke or water damage may purchase
dehumidifiers and air movers (fans) exempt from sales tax as purchases for
resale
Whether an automobile repair shop may pass
through to its customer the costs (including sales tax) paid by the shop on
items used in the repair process, and collect tax on the total bill
including those costs
Whether receipts from licenses to use
software are subject to sales tax when the software may be installed on the
customer's server or accessed on the seller's server
Whether payments by a publisher of
"e-newsletters" to independent contractors who select content and prepare
its "e-newsletters" are subject to sales tax under Tax Law §1105(c)(1)
Whether a credit is allowed for prepaid
sales tax on the number of gallons of motor fuel lost due to shrinkage,
evaporation and handling in underground tanks at retail gasoline stations
National Football League - Whether fees
paid for the license to use payroll processing software applications and for
related items are subject to sales tax
Whether machinery and equipment that
comprise a power frequency regulation facility which will support a more
stable and reliable electrical grid qualify for the production exemption
from sales tax under Tax Law §1115(a)(12)
Whether rental fees and related charges for
renting reusable food containers to farmers are exempt from sales tax under
Tax Law, §1115(a)(19 if the containers are used to ship produce to retail
food stores
Whether receipts from the sale of logistics
management products, including software that is accessed by customers over
the Internet, are subject to sales tax
Whether sales and use tax applies to the
rental of cranes to a subcontractor working on a construction project at the
World Trade Center for the
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
Whether purchases of utilities and fuel oil
by a reseller of liquid asphalt for use in reheating the liquid asphalt for
sale are exempt from sales and use tax under Tax Law §§1115(a)(12) and
1115(c)
Whether a fruit distributor's purchases of
tangible personal property and utilities for use in storing, cleaning,
sorting, and packaging fruit for sale are exempt from sales and use tax
under Tax Law §§1115(a)(6) and 1115(c)(2)
Whether a customer is entitled to a full
refund of the sales tax paid on merchandise when a customer returns the
merchandise, but receives less than the original purchase price as a refund
Whether the provision of individual
free-standing garages to residential tenants of an apartment complex
constitutes the sale of taxable parking, garaging, or storing services under
Tax Law §1105(c)(6)
Homecare Software Solutions LLC - Whether
charges for online applications that are used by homecare agencies to track
patient care and employee time and attendance, and for billing purposes, are
subject to sales tax
NovaTel, Ltd. - Whether telecommunications
services sold to offshore call centers are subject to sales tax and the
excise tax imposed by section 186-e of the Tax Law
Whether purchases of aircraft for use in a fractional ownership program, or
payments by customers participating in the program, are subject to sales tax
Whether receipts from the sale of product development services and related
items, and purchases of property for use in the performance of such services
are subject to sales tax
Jeffrey J. Coren CPA - Whether charges for providing access to an on-line
computer software program pursuant to a software license agreement are
subject to sales tax
TheMarkets.com LLC - Whether web-based services that provide industry
evaluations for investment broker dealers are information services subject
to sales tax
Electronic Mortgage Affiliates - Whether charges to subscribers for access
via the Internet to an online loan origination and processing product are
subject to sales tax
WildBlue Communications, Inc Whether customer premises equipment furnished
to customers of Internet access service may be purchased by service provider
for resale
Arthur R. Rosen - Services relating to regulatory compliance reviews of
client business practices, and to investigations of
activities within a client's organization.
