How did California tax a $5 baseball card and a $30 player autograph when sold as a package, option, or separate transaction?

Plain-English summary

The Board compared three arrangements involving a baseball card worth $5 and a player autograph priced at $30.

• If the vendor sold the card and autograph together for one $35 lump sum, the full $35 was taxable.
• If the vendor sold the card for $5 and offered the autograph as an optional additional $30 service, only the $5 card charge was taxable.
• If the customer bought the $5 card and then paid a show promoter at another table $30 for the player's autograph, only the card charge was taxable.

The counsel memorandum described the question as close but treated the optional and separate autograph charges more like lettering placed on new vehicles than engraving included in a jewelry sale.

Citations and references

• California Revenue and Taxation Code section 6006(b) (as cited)
• California Sales and Use Tax Annotations 430.0640 and 435.0800 (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/295-0000-all.html
• Original supporting opinion: https://cdtfa.ca.gov/lawguides/annotations/295-0035.pdf

Original ruling text

State of California

Board of Equalization

Memorandum

To:

Mr. Glenn A. Bystrom
Principal Tax Auditor

From:

David H. Levine
Senior Tax Counsel

Subject:

Autographs on Baseball Cards

295.0035

December 5, 1990

ATSS 485-5550
(916) 445-5550

This is in response to your memorandum dated November 6, 1990. You ask our opinion regarding the application of sales tax in the following situations: "1.

A vendor sells a baseball card (value $5) and the pictured player is present to autograph the card (value $30), for one lump sum price of
$35.

"2.

A vendor sells a baseball card for $5 and as an option, the customer may pay an additional $30 to the vendor to have the player sign the card.

"3.

A vendor sells a baseball card for $5. then the customer takes the card to another table that is run by the show promoter where the player will sign the card for a $30 fee.”

You note that I had discussed this previously with a member of your staff, Geoffrey Lyle, and concluded that the entire $35 in situation 1 is subject to sales tax. You agree with this conclusion. I had concluded that sales tax applies only to the $5 charge for the baseball card under situations 2 and 3. You are troubled by this conclusion because of the similarity of this type of transaction to the transaction discussed in Annotation 435.0800. That annotation states that charges for engraving jewelry are included in gross receipts unless performed long after the original sale. You ask for our further review of my previous conclusions. Although this is a close question, we believe that Annotation 430.0640 (12/4/50) is closer to this transaction than Annotation 435.0800. That annotation states that printing of lettering and signs on new trucks or automobiles is not a sale under section 6006(b). Our

Mr. Glenn A. Bystrom

-2-

December 5, 1990
295.0035

opinion therefore remains that tax does not apply to the $30 charge for the autographs under situations 2 and 3.

DHL:wk

cc:

295.0035.doc

Mr. Donald J. Hennessy
Mr. John Abbott
Mr. Geoffrey Lyle