Ezel / Tax Rulings / CA

How did California classify steak markers that a restaurant served together with steak meals?

Short answer The Board memorandum treated the steak markers as sold along with the meals. It did not separately state statutory or purchase-for-resale mechanics.
State
CA
Ruling
Annotation 550.0533
Tax type
Sales and Use Tax
Issued
1983-04-25
Issued by
California State Board of Equalization
Requested by
An internal Board inquiry about steak markers served by restaurants (identity redacted)
Topics
restaurants meals
Source
View Original PDF

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 1983. Ask about yours and see what current California tax law says, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 1983
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 April 25, 1983 internal tax-counsel memorandum contains only one substantive sentence and does not identify a statute, regulation, marker material, separate charge, or later formal disposition. This page does not extend the memo beyond its stated classification. Current law controls over the annotation. 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

The Board's tax-counsel memorandum addressed steak markers that restaurants served together with steak meals. It classified those markers as sold along with the meals.

The official source is extremely brief. It does not describe the markers, say whether customers kept or discarded them, identify a statute or regulation, discuss separate charges, or expressly explain the restaurant's purchase-for-resale documentation. Those questions therefore are not resolved by the complete memorandum itself.

Common questions

Were the steak markers treated as restaurant supplies consumed by the seller?

No. The memorandum said they were considered sold along with the meals.

Did the source expressly say how the restaurant should document a resale purchase?

No. The complete memorandum gives the sale classification but does not separately discuss purchase or documentation mechanics.

Citations and references

  • The complete supporting memorandum cites no statute, regulation, or case.

Source

Original ruling text

State of California

Board of Equalization

550.0533

Memorandum
To:

REDACTED TEXT

From:

Tax Counsel (JHM) - Headquarters

Subject:

REDACTED TEXT

Date:

April 25, 1983

At restaurants where the steak markers are served along with the steak, as set forth in your
memorandum of April 7, 1983, we advise you that those markers are to be considered as sold along
with the meals.
JHM:at

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