Ezel / Tax Rulings / CA

Were sales of Karakul sheep exempt even though the breed was used heavily for wool production?

Short answer Yes. California kept Karakul sheep within the food-animal exemption because the breed was definitely used for food despite its greater wool use.
State
CA
Ruling
Annotation 110.0140
Tax type
Sales and Use Tax
Issued
1951-05-29
Issued by
California State Board of Equalization
Requested by
A Board official reviewing the tax treatment of the Karakul sheep industry
Topics
food animals human food exemptions
Source
View Original PDF

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This page answers the general question as of 1951. Ask about yours and see what current California tax law says, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 1951
Subsequent statutory amendments, regulation changes, court decisions, or later rulings may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current tax advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, rate, or position mentioned here.
Disclaimer: This is an internal California State Board of Equalization legal memorandum dated May 29, 1951, published by CDTFA as support for a sales and use tax annotation. Its conclusion relies on information from the California Wool Growers Association that Karakul sheep were definitely used for food despite heavier wool use. Another taxpayer should not treat it as binding and should check current Karakul-sheep, wool, food-animal, human-food, exemption, and sales-and-use-tax rules. This summary is informational only and is not legal or tax advice.
About this page: The plain-English summary, reader guidance, and Q&A below were written by Ezel based on the official state tax ruling. The original ruling (linked on this page as a PDF) is the authoritative source for any reliance.
View original ruling (PDF)

Plain-English summary

Karakul sheep remained within the exemption for animal life whose products ordinarily constituted human food. Information from the California Wool Growers Association showed the breed was definitely used for food, even though it was used for wool more heavily than ordinary sheep breeds.

Citations and references

  • No specific statute or regulation was cited in the published memorandum.

Source

Original ruling text

STATE BOARD OF EQUALIZATION
OFFICE CORRESPONDENCE

110.0140
Sacramento
May 29, 1951

To:

Mr. W. C. Shay

From:

E. H. Stetson

Re:

Application of Tax -Karakul Sheep Industry

Information received from the California Wool Growers Association in response to our letter of May 11 indicates that this breed is definitely used for food purposes event though it is used for wool production more than is the ordinary breed of sheep. We believe, accordingly, that we should not depart from our previous ruling holding that Karakul Sheep are within the exemption applicable to sales of animal life of a kind the products of which ordinarily constitute food for human consumption.

EHS:ph

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