Were transfers of videotapes, slides, and computer-program tapes by CSU Sacramento taxable when made to sister campuses, community colleges, or private colleges?

Plain-English summary

CSU Sacramento's financial manager asked whether sales of videotapes, slides and computer-program tapes to other state university and college campuses, community colleges and private colleges were subject to sales tax. The March 29 request and transaction records are absent.

Tax Counsel E. Leslie Sorensen, Jr. explained that section 6006(a) defined a sale to include title transfer for consideration and sections 6012 and 6051 taxed California retail sales measured by gross receipts. For title to pass in this analysis, the transfer had to occur between separate legal entities.

The opinion treated CSU Sacramento and its sister campuses in the State College and University system as parts of one legal entity under Education Code sections 66,600 et.seq. Internal transfers therefore were not sales between separate persons.

Community colleges and private colleges were separate legal entities under the opinion. Transfers from CSU Sacramento to them were taxable sales. The source does not discuss a specific recipient, price, delivery, software licensing, exemption, return, tax payment, audit or later outcome.

Source posture and citation conflict

The live 415.0300 annotation, in the 2026 revision of the Business Taxes Law Guide, says sales by one state university to another are not sales because universities are one legal entity, and sales to private or community colleges are taxable unless exempt. The supporting opinion more narrowly discusses CSU Sacramento and sister campuses in the State College and University system. It cites Education Code sections 66,600 et.seq.; the live page prints 66,000 et. seq. without explaining the difference. The live page adds unless otherwise exempt for outside colleges, a sensible limitation not expressly written in the source's final sentence. It omits the requester, three media types, title/consideration and gross-receipts analysis, missing records and absent outcome.

CDTFA's Annotated Legal Opinions collection says statutory law controls over an inconsistent annotation. The official one-page PDF has a clean native text layer and one small page-1 image, so no OCR was required. It prints RICHARD NEVINSr and other formatting defects that remain verbatim below. Duplicate direct downloads and extractions matched, and the original-text tail remains byte-identical to the committed tail and fresh extraction after removing only terminal extractor whitespace.

What this means for you

Universities, colleges, and tax professionals

Determine the current legal identity of both campuses and the actual property, consideration and rights transferred. An internal movement within one entity may not be a sale, while a similar transfer to a separate college can be taxable or require a separate exemption analysis. Do not rely on the conflicting historical Education Code citations without current verification.

Common questions

Q: Were transfers from CSU Sacramento to another CSU campus taxable?

A: No for a sister campus in the same cited system, because the opinion treated those campuses as one legal entity.

Q: Were transfers to community colleges or private colleges taxable?

A: Yes under the opinion because those colleges were separate legal entities. No particular recipient or exemption is analyzed.

Q: Did the opinion create a blanket exemption for all university transactions?

A: No. Its result depended on whether title for consideration passed between separate legal entities.

Q: Which Education Code citation controls?

A: The supporting opinion prints 66,600 et seq.; the live annotation prints 66,000 et seq. Neither source explains the difference, so current official code must be checked.

Q: Did the source show actual transactions or tax outcomes?

A: No. The request, media records, recipients, agreements, prices, invoices, delivery, returns, tax and outcomes are absent.

Citations and references

• California Revenue and Taxation Code sections 6005, 6006(a), 6012 and 6051
• California Education Code sections 66,600 et seq. in the supporting opinion; sections 66,000 et seq. on the live annotation
• March 29 request; media and content records; recipients; ownership, agreements, prices, invoices and delivery; exemptions; returns; tax; audit; and outcome — absent

Verbatim support

From the official July 9, 1985 Tax Counsel opinion:

In order for title to pass and tax to apply, the transfer must be between separate legal entities.

Here, such taxable transfers would occur between the California State University Sacramento campus and the community and private colleges (see Rev. & Tax. Code §6005) but would not occur between the Sacramento campus and its other sister campuses in the State College and University system since together these campuses comprise a single legal entity (See Cal.Educ. Code §§66,600 et.seq.).

Source

• Annotated Legal Opinions collection: CDTFA Annotated Legal Opinions
• Live annotation: Annotation 415.0300
• Original supporting opinion: 415.0300 PDF

Original ruling text

415.0300

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

WILLIAM M. BENNETT
First District, Kentfield

STATE BOARD OF EQUALIZATION
1020 N STREET, SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA
(P.O. BOX 1799 SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA 95808)
(916) 445-8485

CONWAY H. COLLIS
Second District, Los Angeles
ERNEST J. DRONENBURG, JR
Third District, San Diego
RICHARD NEVINSr
Fourth District, Pasadena

July 9, 1985

KENNETH CORY
Controller, Sacramento
DOUGLAS D. BELL
Executive Secretary

Mr. A--- S. B--Financial Manager
California State University, Sacramento
6000 J Street
Sacramento, CA 95819-2694

Dear Mr. B---:
This is in response to your letter of March 29, 1985. You wondered whether “sales” of video tapes, slides, and computer program tapes by California State University, Sacramento campus, to other state university and college campuses, community colleges, and private colleges are subject to sales tax. “Sale” is defined in Sales and Use Tax Law to include a transfer of title to tangible personal property for a consideration (Rev. & Tax. Code §6006(a)). Sales at retail in California are subject to sales tax measured by gross receipts (Rev. & Tax. Code §§6012, 6051). In order for title to pass and tax to apply, the transfer must be between separate legal entities. Here, such taxable transfers would occur between the California State University Sacramento campus and the community and private colleges (see Rev. & Tax. Code §6005) but would not occur between the Sacramento campus and its other sister campuses in the State College and University system since together these campuses comprise a single legal entity (See Cal.Educ. Code §§66,600 et.seq.). Very truly yours,

E. Leslie Sorensen, Jr.
Tax Counsel

ELS:rar
cc:

Donald J. Hennessy