Ezel / Tax Rulings / TX
TX 8410L0595A01 Sales and/or Use Tax (State,Local,MTA) 1984-10-18

Were State Fair of Texas carnival ride tickets and admissions taxable when the fair was a co-producer?

Short answer: No. After reviewing the fair's midway expenses and contract, the Comptroller concluded the State Fair was a co-producer of the carnival, so ride tickets and admissions were not taxable. Tax already collected still had to be remitted.

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 1984. Ezel answers yours, under current Texas tax law, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 1984
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 an official Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts letter published on the State Tax Automated Research (STAR) system. Letters on STAR can be the basis of a detrimental reliance claim only for the taxpayer to whom the letter was directly issued (see 34 Tex. Admin. Code Rules 3.1 and 3.10); documents on STAR may no longer represent current policy even if not marked superseded. Taxpayer-identifying details are redacted. This summary is informational only and is not legal or tax advice. Consult a licensed Texas tax professional about your specific situation.
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) is the authoritative source for any reliance.

Plain-English summary

The Texas Comptroller concluded that the State Fair of Texas was a co-producer of the carnival portion of the fair after reviewing its midway expenses and a previously submitted contract.

Because of that co-producer status, tickets and admissions to carnival rides were not subject to sales tax.

Any tax collected before removal of signs stating that tax was included still had to be remitted to the state.

What this means for you

Fair and carnival operators

The result rested on the State Fair's co-producer status, supported by its expenses and contract, rather than simply on the event being a fair.

Businesses that already collected tax

A later nontaxable conclusion did not allow the fair to keep tax collected while signs represented that tax was included.

Accountants and tax professionals

The source does not reproduce the contract or explain the full co-producer test. Verify current amusement and collected-tax rules.

Common questions

Q: Were the carnival ride tickets and admissions taxable?
A: No.

Q: Why were they nontaxable?
A: The Comptroller found the State Fair was a co-producer of the carnival.

Q: Could previously collected tax be refunded or retained?
A: The letter said it had to be remitted to the state.

Citations and references

  • The letter cites no statute or administrative rule.

Source

Original ruling text

October 18, 1984

Dear **:

Thank you for the information concerning the State Fair of Texas'
expenses in connection with operating the midway.

After reviewing these, together with the contract previously sub-
mitted, we have concluded that the State Fair of Texas is a co-
producer of the carnival portion of the State Fair and as such
tickets and admissions to rides are not subject to sales tax.

Any amount of tax collected prior to the removal of the signs
indicating tax included must, of course, be remitted to the State.

Thank you very much for your cooperation.

Very truly yours,

Wade Anderson
Associate Deputy Comptroller

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