Ezel / Tax Rulings / TX
TX 8711L0845E04 Sales and/or Use Tax (State,Local,MTA) 1987-11-04

Did Anderson County's new half-percent sales tax apply to electricity used by commercial and residential customers?

Short answer: The county tax followed the state sales-tax treatment: commercial electricity was taxable unless the account qualified for and claimed a state exemption, while residential electricity use was not taxable.

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 November 1987 Texas Comptroller letter about Anderson County's half-percent sales tax effective January 1, 1988. It says the opinion may change if the facts differ. Its rate, effective date, utility exemptions, and commercial-versus-residential treatment are historical and may have changed substantially; verify current state and local law and the account's exemption status. STAR documents may no longer represent current policy even when not marked superseded.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

Anderson County's half-percent sales tax, effective January 1, 1988, applied to electricity in the same way as the Texas state sales tax.

Commercial electricity use was taxable unless the account qualified for and was claiming an exemption from state tax. Residential electricity use was not subject to the county tax.

What this means for you

The historical letter made the county result depend on the state treatment of the same electricity account. A commercial account needed both to qualify for and claim the state exemption to avoid the county tax.

Common questions

Did the county tax apply to commercial electricity? Yes, unless the account qualified for and claimed a state-tax exemption.

Did it apply to residential electricity? No.

When was the Anderson County tax scheduled to begin? January 1, 1988.

Citations and references

  • No statute or administrative rule is cited in the letter text.

Source

Original ruling text

COMPTROLLER OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS
STATE OF TEXAS
AUSTIN, 78774

BOB BULLOCK
Comptroller November 4, 1987

Dear *:

This is to follow up your letter and our telephone conversation regarding
applicability of county tax to electricity.

Anderson County adopted the 1/2% county sales tax which will be effective
January 1, 1988.

The county tax applies to electricity the same as the state sales tax.
The
tax is due on commercial uses of electricity except on those accounts
that
qualify for and are claiming exemption from the state tax. The county
tax is
not due on residential use of electricity.

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

I 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
512/453-4600. You may write me at the Tax Policy Division.

Sincerely,
(Mrs.) Jo Ann Dieck
Tax Policy Division

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