Is a daily investment-analysis newsletter about corporate bonds, delivered by email, fax, or hard copy on a subscription basis, exempt from sales tax as a periodical?

Plain-English summary

Gimme Credit Publications Inc. (and its LLC successor) publishes a daily newsletter covering corporate bond markets — in-depth analysis, news, and investment recommendations on publicly traded corporate debt, written by staff writers and aimed at sophisticated fixed-income professionals. It's published roughly five days a week, 48 weeks a year, available by subscription (annual or quarterly) to anyone who pays — though not sold on newsstands — and delivered in four formats: email, fax, overnight hard copy, or messenger hard copy, with the electronic and paper editions asserted to be identical in content.

New York exempts "newspapers and periodicals" from sales tax, and the Department's regulations set out a five-part test for what counts as a periodical: published at least quarterly, not a "book," available for public circulation, continuity of title/subject matter across issues, and each issue containing varied articles by different authors on a specific field. Applying that test:

• The Newsletter satisfies the "not a book" and "continuity" requirements based on the Department's review of sample copies.
• Even without individually bylined articles in every case, a newsletter with a regular staff of writers preparing distinct articles still counts as having "different authors" for this purpose.
• Being available to anyone who pays the subscription fee — even without newsstand sales — satisfies the "available to the public" requirement.

So the hard-copy edition qualifies as an exempt periodical. For the electronic edition to share that exemption, the statute requires a genuine paper edition to actually exist and be available (satisfied here via overnight/messenger delivery), and the electronic version must contain the whole content of the print edition and nothing extra (aside from advertising) — no bonus real-time updates, no additional data feeds not in the print version. Since Gimme Credit represented that its email/fax editions are identical to the hard copy, the electronic edition is equally exempt — but only for as long as that parity actually holds. If the electronic version ever includes information beyond what's in the print edition, that expanded electronic subscription becomes a taxable information service.

What this means for you

Financial newsletter and research publishers

The periodical exemption is genuinely available to specialized, subscription-only financial/professional newsletters — you don't need general-newsstand availability, and a staff-written newsletter without individual bylines can still satisfy the "different authors" requirement.

Publishers offering both print and electronic delivery

Keep your electronic and print editions truly identical in content if you want the electronic version to share the print edition's tax exemption. Any content exclusive to the electronic edition — bonus updates, real-time data, supplemental features — risks converting that whole electronic subscription charge into a taxable information service.

Accountants advising publishing/media clients

This is a useful template for analyzing any specialized subscription newsletter's periodical-exemption eligibility: check the five-part regulatory test (frequency, not-a-book, public availability, continuity, varied-authorship) against actual sample issues, then separately confirm print/electronic content parity before relying on the exemption for electronic subscribers.

Common questions

Q: Does a newsletter need individually bylined articles to qualify as an exempt periodical?
A: No — a newsletter without signed articles can still satisfy the "different authors" requirement if it has a staff of writers who originally prepare the articles.

Q: Does a periodical need to be sold on newsstands to be "available to the public"?
A: No — being available to anyone who pays the subscription price satisfies that requirement, even without newsstand distribution.

Q: Is an electronic-only newsletter (with no paper edition) exempt as a periodical?
A: No — the exemption for electronic delivery requires that a genuine tangible paper edition actually exists and is available, and that the electronic version matches that print content exactly (aside from advertising).

Q: What happens if the electronic edition contains extra content not in the print version?
A: That electronic subscription becomes subject to sales tax as a taxable information service, since it no longer qualifies for the newspaper/periodical exemption's electronic-parity rule.

Q: Does this ruling apply to any subscription newsletter?
A: This is a fact-specific Advisory Opinion binding only on Gimme Credit Publications Inc./Gimme Credit LLC and the specific newsletter and formats described. Other newsletters would need their own facts checked against the same regulatory test.

Citations and references

• Tax Law § 1101(b)(6) (tangible personal property; electronic newspaper/periodical parity rule)
• Tax Law § 1105(a) (imposition of sales tax on retail sales)
• Tax Law § 1105(c)(1) (furnishing of information services)
• Tax Law § 1115(a)(5) (newspapers and periodicals exemption)
• 20 NYCRR § 528.6 (definition of an exempt periodical)
• American Theater Press, Inc., Adv Op St Tx Comm, Aug. 7, 1981, TSB-A-81(7)S
• The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc., Adv Op Comm T&F, Aug. 6, 1998, TSB-A-98(55)S
• CCH Incorporated, c/o Wolters Kluwer U.S. Corporation, Adv Op Comm T&F, Apr. 1, 2003, TSB-A-03(13)S

Source

• Landing page: https://www.tax.ny.gov/pubs_and_bulls/advisory_opinions/sales_ao_2008.htm
• Opinion: https://www.tax.ny.gov/pdf/advisory_opinions/sales/a08_14s.pdf

Original ruling text

New York State Department of Taxation and Finance
TSB-A-08(14)S
Sales Tax
March 19, 2008

Office of Tax Policy Analysis
Taxpayer Guidance Division
STATE OF NEW YORK
COMMISSIONER OF TAXATION AND FINANCE
ADVISORY OPINION

PETITION NO. S070615A

On June 15, 2007, the Department of Taxation and Finance received a Petition for
Advisory Opinion from Gimme Credit Publications Inc. and Gimme Credit LLC, 17 State Street,
7th Floor, New York, New York 10004. Petitioners, Gimme Credit Publications Inc. and
Gimme Credit LLC, provided additional information pertaining to the Petition on October 23,
2007.
The issue raised by Petitioners is whether sales of their newsletters are sales of
periodicals exempt from sales and use tax.
Petitioners submitted the following facts as the basis for this Advisory Opinion.
Gimme Credit Publications Inc., a Delaware corporation, and its successor, Gimme
Credit LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, (collectively, “Company”) publish a daily
newsletter (hereinafter “Newsletter”) which focuses exclusively on in-depth coverage of fixed
income financial markets. Newsletter contains news, analysis, and recommendations specific to
corporate bond offerings of publicly traded debt securities by major U.S.-based corporations,
targeted to high level and sophisticated users in the finance field.
On the cover page of each daily Newsletter there is a one-paragraph synopsis of the
articles contained on the following pages. The length of Newsletter has increased over the years
from two daily articles to about four to five. The articles are written by a number of different
authors and the author’s name is printed under the title of each article. Company’s name, logo,
and the date of the issue appear on the upper left corner of the cover page. Each of the following
pages contains one full-length article. The date of the issue and author’s name are printed across
the top of each of these pages, and Company's name and logo are positioned down the left-hand
margin. Each issue is copyrighted.
The articles are analytical and have high editorial content. The authors report on news
and recent developments affecting a company’s financial position based on information collected
from various sources. Detailed explanations and analyses of the relevant issues are provided
along with a forecast of the effect these issues have on movement of the company’s bond price,
and an investment recommendation is made based on the author’s analyses and opinions. For
example, a September 13, 2005, article entitled “Life is a Journey” signed by a staff writer
reported on a consumer products manufacturer’s two new strategic initiatives, analyzed its past
revenue gains, explained the reasons for the improvement in the company’s gross margin,
forecasted the likely usage of its excess cash, and ended with an investment recommendation.

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Newsletter may also contain an article or feature story focused on issues of general
economic or financial interest within a specific industry or market segment, such as the article
entitled “Insurers: Katrina Exposure” in the same September 13, 2005, issue, signed by another
staff writer which examined the impact of Hurricane Katrina on the insurance industry.
Newsletter is generally published 5 days a week for 48 weeks of the year. Each
Newsletter is available to the general public on an annual or quarterly subscription basis.
Newsletter is not available on newsstands. Most subscribers are fixed income and debt securities
departments, desks, or divisions of major, regional, and boutique financial institutions.
However, a number of subscribers are individuals and non-financial institutions with interests in
the fixed income financial markets.
Newsletter is offered to subscribers in a choice of four formats: (i) electronic mail (ii)
facsimile delivery (iii) overnight delivery in hard copy format or (iv) messenger in hard copy
format. When Company was first established in 1994, there was no electronic distribution of
Newsletter. Over time, the prevalent mode of distribution evolved from overnight, messenger,
and facsimile delivery to electronic delivery. Today, the majority of subscribers opt to receive
their Newsletters by electronic mail, but Newsletter is always available in tangible paper
editions. Petitioners assert that the paper editions and the electronic editions are identical.
Petitioners submitted sample copies of the print version of Newsletter as part of the
Petition. Examination of these sample copies reveals that Newsletter does not contain
advertisements.
Applicable law and regulations
Section 1101(b)(6) of the Tax Law defines tangible personal property, in part, as:
Corporeal personal property of any nature. . . . Such term shall also include
newspapers and periodicals where the vendor ships or delivers the entire edition or issue
of the newspaper or periodical, with or without the advertising included in the paper
edition or issue, but not including anything, other than advertising, not in such paper
edition or issue, to the purchaser by means of telephony or telegraphy or other electronic
media, but only where the amount of the sale price to such purchaser of such newspaper
or magazine or the subscription price, in the case of a subscription to a newspaper or
periodical, including any charge by such vendor for shipping or delivery to the purchaser,
is separately stated to such purchaser.
Section 1105 of the Tax Law provides, in part:
Imposition of sales tax. . . . there is hereby imposed and there shall be paid a tax .
. . upon:

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(a) The receipts from every retail sale of tangible personal property, except as
otherwise provided in this article.
*

*

*

(c) The receipts from every sale, except for resale, of the following services:
(1) The furnishing of information by printed, mimeographed or multigraphed
matter or by duplicating written or printed matter in any other manner, including the
services of collecting, compiling or analyzing information of any kind or nature and
furnishing reports thereof to other persons, . . .
Section 1115(a) of the Tax Law provides, in part:
Receipts from the following shall be exempt from the tax on retail sales imposed
under subdivision (a) of section eleven hundred five and the compensating use tax
imposed under section eleven hundred ten:
*

*

*

(5) Newspapers and periodicals.
Section 528.6 of the Sales and Use Tax Regulations (Regulations) provides, in part:
(a) Exemption. The sale of newspapers and periodicals is exempt from sales and
compensating use tax.
*

*

*

(c) Definition of a periodical. (1) In order to constitute a periodical, a publication
must conform generally to the following requirements:
(i) it must be published in printed or written form at stated intervals, at least as
frequently as four times a year;
(ii) it must not, either singly or, when successive issues are put together, constitute
a book;
(iii) it must be available for circulation to the public;
(iv) it must have continuity as to title and general nature of content from issue to
issue; and

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(v) each issue must contain a variety of articles by different authors devoted to
literature, the sciences or the arts, news, some special industry, profession, sport or other
field of endeavor.
(2) A publication which may be known as or considered to be a newsletter may
qualify as a periodical if it conforms to the above standards. Where a newsletter has no
signed articles, but has a staff of writers who originally prepare articles, such publication
will be considered to have articles by different authors. If a publication has been
classified by the United States Postal Service as one which is entitled to second class
mailing privileges, that fact will be considered in determining whether or not the
publication is a periodical.
(3) Nothing in this section shall be construed to exempt as a periodical the
following:
(i) advertising material, such as catalogs, flyers, pamphlets and brochures;
(ii) listings and compilations which constitute information services;
(iii) publications which are issued at stated intervals but which are books
or parts of a book.
Opinion
Company publishes hardcopy and electronic versions of Newsletter. The Petition asserts
that (1) Newsletter is generally published 5 days a week for 48 weeks of the year; (2) Newsletter
accepts a subscription from anyone who pays the subscription fee; and (3) articles or materials
contained in Newsletter are written or prepared by Company’s staff of writers. Newsletter is not
available on newsstands.
Examination of the sample copies of Newsletter indicates that it does not either singly or
when successive issues are put together constitute a book or reference manual. Newsletter,
therefore, appears to meet the requirements for being a periodical publication pursuant to section
528.6(c)(1)(ii) of the Regulations.
It also appears from the examination of Newsletter that it has continuity of literary
character, subject matter, style, and format; and thus the publication meets the periodical
requirements of section 528.6(c)(1)(iv) of the Regulations.
Petitioners state that Newsletter accepts a subscription from anyone who pays the
subscription fee. It appears that even though Newsletter is not sold on newsstands, it is available
to the general public by subscription for the purposes of section 528.6(c)(1)(iii) of
the Regulations. See American Theater Press, Inc., Adv Op St Tx Comm, August 7, 1981,

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TSB-A-81(7)S for a discussion of the requirement that a publication must be available to the
public.
Based on the representations of Petitioners and an examination of the sample copies
provided, it appears that a printed edition of Newsletter generally meets the requirements of an
exempt periodical set forth in section 528.6(c)(1) of the Regulations. The hardcopy version of
Newsletter, therefore, qualifies as an exempt periodical under section 1115(a)(5) of the Tax Law.
For the electronic version of Newsletter to be exempt from sales and use tax, there must
be available for sale a tangible paper (hardcopy) edition or issue of Newsletter. Petitioners assert
that the hardcopy version of Newsletter is available by overnight delivery or messenger service.
The electronic transmission as delivered must, with the exception of advertisements, contain the
whole content of the print edition or issue. In addition, the electronic version cannot, with the
exception of advertisements, include anything which is not in the hardcopy version; e.g.,
additional comments published throughout the day that are not part of the print version, credit
scores added as they are announced, and data downloads of information that are not part of the
print version. See section 1101(b)(6) of the Tax Law, and The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc.,
Adv Op Comm T&F, August 6, 1998, TSB-A-98(55)S. Accordingly, if the subscription to the
electronic version of Newsletter includes information (other than advertising) not included in the
hardcopy version, or if the subscription for the hardcopy version of Newsletter provides the
customer with information (other than advertising) not included in the electronic version, the
charge for the subscription to the electronic version will be subject to sales tax under section
1105(c)(1) of the Tax Law. See CCH Incorporated, c/o Wolters Kluwer U.S. Corporation, Adv
Op Comm T & F, April 1, 2003, TSB-A-03(13)S. However, provided that the hardcopy version
and the electronic version of Newsletter are identical, the electronic version of Newsletter is
exempt from sales tax under section 1115(a)(5) of the Tax Law. Copies of Newsletter must be
retained for Company’s records.

DATED: March 19, 2008

NOTE:

/s/
Jonathan Pessen
Tax Regulations Specialist IV
Taxpayer Guidance Division

An Advisory Opinion is issued at the request of a person or entity. It is
limited to the facts set forth therein and is binding on the Department only
with respect to the person or entity to whom it is issued and only if the
person or entity fully and accurately describes all relevant facts. An
Advisory Opinion is based on the law, regulations, and Department
policies in effect as of the date the Opinion is issued or for the specific
time period at issue in the Opinion.