Which highway-lighting and traffic-signal components were fixtures versus materials?

Plain-English summary

Traffic signals themselves were fixtures, and the installer was their retailer. Under a lump-sum contract, the historical fixture measure was installer cost.

Wires, conduits, poles, and other facilities making up highway lighting and signal infrastructure were materials consumed by the contractor.

An Attorney General opinion treating electrical transmission lines as personal property did not require the same classification for these highway components.

Common questions

Were the signal heads fixtures?

Yes.

How were wires and conduits classified?

As materials.

How were poles classified?

As materials.

Citations and references

• Former California Sales and Use Tax Ruling 11 — traffic signals as fixtures, lump-sum fixture measure, and wires, conduits, and poles as materials applied
• Unidentified California Attorney General opinion — treatment of electrical transmission lines as personal property distinguished; the official PDF supplies no title, date, or citation
• July 17, 1953 Sacramento Auditing memorandum — construction-contractor contents identified as discussed and answered; not reproduced in the official PDF
• Consultation with Mr. Say — identified as part of the analysis of the July 17 memorandum; no separate record is reproduced in the official PDF

Source

• Annotated Legal Opinions collection: https://cdtfa.ca.gov/taxes-and-fees/annotations-menu.htm
• Annotation page: https://cdtfa.ca.gov/lawguides/vol2/suta/190-0000-all.html
• Original supporting opinion: https://cdtfa.ca.gov/lawguides/annotations/190-1680.pdf

Original ruling text

State of California

Board of Equalization

Memorandum

To:

Sacramento - Auditing

From:

Headquarters – Sales Tax Counsel

Subject:

Construction Contractors

190.1680
Sacramento
July 28, 1953

I have discussed the contents of your memo of July 17 with Mr. Say. We are of the opinion that the Attorney General’s Opinion relating to the status of electrical transmission lines as personal property does not require a conclusion that the wires, conduits, poles, and other facilities constituting highway lighting and traffic signals are also to be regarded as personal property. Undoubtedly the signals themselves are “fixtures” and the installer is the retailer, but the measure of the tax in a lump-sum contract is the cost of the fixture in accordance with Ruling 11. The wires, conduits, and poles are “materials” under Ruling 11.

E. H. Stetson
EHS:ph