Ezel / Tax Rulings / CA

Could meat processors buy wood for resale when burning it to produce curing smoke?

Short answer Yes. The cited Attorney General opinion treated the smoke produced from the wood as becoming a component of the meat product sold.
State
CA
Ruling
Annotation 440.0775
Tax type
Sales and Use Tax
Issued
1940-07-24
Issued by
California State Board of Equalization
Requested by
A seller asking about wood burned to smoke, process, and cure meat products
Topics
meat component parts resale exemption attorney general opinion
Source
View Original PDF

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 1940. Ask about yours and see what current California tax law says, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 1940
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 a California State Board of Equalization assistant-tax-counsel letter dated July 24, 1940, published by CDTFA as support for a sales and use tax annotation. Its short conclusion relies on California Attorney General Opinion No. 10638 and the stated incorporation of smoke into cured meat. Another taxpayer should not treat it as binding and should check current food-processing, smoking, curing, ingredient, resale, 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

A seller asked about wood burned while processing and curing meat.

Based on California Attorney General Opinion No. 10638, Board counsel said retail sales tax did not apply because the wood produced smoke that became a component part of the meat product sold.

Citations and references

  • California Attorney General Opinion No. 10638 (as cited)

Source

Original ruling text

440.0775

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

STATE BOARD OF EQUALIZATION

July 24, 1940

J--- M--- & Company
XXX-XXX --- Street
--California

Gentlemen:

Attention of Mr. C. B. C--Credit Manager

In reply to your letter of July 11, we advise that pursuant to the opinion of Attorney General,
No. 10638, the retail sales tax does not apply to the receipts from the sale of wood for use in the
processing and curing of meats, the wood being burned to produce smoke which becomes a
component part of the meat product.
Very truly yours,

EHS S
Assistant Tax Counsel
cc – H A Mosher

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