Ezel / Tax Rulings / TX
TX 8709L0832A10 Sales and/or Use Tax (State,Local,MTA) 1987-09-17

Was a fee for removing a customer's name from mailing and telephone solicitation lists a taxable information service?

Short answer: No. Customers received no compiled information and solicitors paid nothing for the names, so the service was nontaxable; the provider paid tax on supplies.

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 1987. Ezel answers yours, under current Texas tax law, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 1987
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 taxpayer-specific September 1987 Texas Comptroller letter about removing names from mailing and telephone solicitation lists. It says the opinion may change if the facts differ. Its information-service analysis is historical and depended on who received information and who paid for it; verify current law and service design. STAR documents may no longer represent current policy even when not marked superseded. Identities are redacted. 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) is the authoritative source for any reliance.

Plain-English summary

Customers paid the business to remove their names from mailing and telephone lists used by financial-investment solicitors. The business then gave the removed names to those solicitors without charge.

The Comptroller said the service was not an information service and was nontaxable both before and after October 1, 1987. The paying customers did not receive information gathered or compiled by the business, and the solicitors did not pay for the names.

Because it provided a nontaxable service, the business had to pay tax on all supplies used to perform it.

What this means for you

The historical classification turned on the transaction's information flow. The customer bought removal, not information, while the party receiving the names paid nothing.

Common questions

Was the name-removal fee taxable? No.

Why was it not an information service? The paying customer received no gathered or compiled information, and the solicitors receiving names did not pay for them.

Who paid tax on supplies? The service provider.

Citations and references

  • No statute or rule number is cited in the ruling text.

Source

Original ruling text

COMPTROLLER OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS
STATE OF TEXAS
AUSTIN, 78774

September 17, 1987

Dear ***:

Thank you for your letter regarding the taxability of the services you
provide your customers.

Your customers pay you a fee to have their names taken off mailing and
telephone lists used by financial investment solicitors. You then give
these names to the solicitors free of charge.

We have determined that the services you provide your customers are not
information services, are currently nontaxable, land are nontaxable after
October 1, 1987. Your customers are not receiving information gathered
or
compiled by you and the financial investment solicitors are not paying
for
the names that you supply them. As the provider of nontaxable services,
you
are required to pay tax on all supplies used in providing the service.

This opinion is based on the facts presented. If there are additional or
different facts, the opinion may change.

If you have any questions or need more information, please call me at
1-800-252-5555 toll free from anywhere in Texas. The regular number is
512/463-4600. You may write me at the Tax Policy Division.

Sincerely,
Julie Pesl
Tax Policy Division

Get today's answer for your situation

You just read a 1987 ruling on this question. Ezel checks current Texas tax law and answers your specific situation, with citations.

Opens in Ezel Pro. Every answer cites the authority it relies on.