Were sales of live halibut to a zoo or aquarium exempt under California's animal-life provision?

Plain-English summary

Live halibut sold to a zoo or aquarium were exempt because section 6358(a), as cited, exempted qualifying animal life. The memorandum said the tax result changed when the fish sold were live halibut.

The earlier Current Legal Digest had discussed fish used to feed zoo or aquarium animals and had incorrectly attributed the feed exemption to section 6359. Counsel corrected that reference: the animal-life exemption was in section 6358(a), while the feed exemption considered in the digest was in section 6358(b).

Citations and references

• California Revenue and Taxation Code section 6358(a) and (b) (as cited)

Source

• Annotated Legal Opinions collection: https://cdtfa.ca.gov/taxes-and-fees/annotations-menu.htm
• Annotation page: https://cdtfa.ca.gov/lawguides/vol2/suta/110-0000-all.html
• Original supporting opinion: https://cdtfa.ca.gov/lawguides/annotations/110-0350.pdf

Original ruling text

State of California

Board of Equalization

Memorandum

To:

Long Beach – Compliance (GLD)

From:

HQ – Legal (DJH)

Subject:

Current Legal Digest – 163
(9/21/67 to 9/27/67)

110.0350

Date:

February 6, 1980

Your memorandum of January 28, 1980 states that CLD-163 as it pertains to animals and feed – sales of fish to aquariums and zoos – is causing some confusion among your staff. You ask whether the application of tax would change if the fish sold were live halibut. The tax application would change. Sales of live halibut would be within the exemption from sales and use tax for sales of animal life as provided in Section 6358(a). The CLD incorrectly refers to the feed exemption as provided by Section 6359. Actually, the feed exemption is in Section 6358(b) and was the exemption considered in the CLD.

DJH:po