Ezel / Tax Rulings / TX
TX 8802L0868D04 Sales and/or Use Tax (State,Local,MTA) 1988-02-01

Were environmental analytical sampling and testing services taxable Texas information services?

Short answer: No. Texas treated the described environmental analytical sampling and testing for industry, government, consulting firms, and individuals as nontaxable information under Rule 3.342(d)(1).

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 1988. Ezel answers yours, under current Texas tax law, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 1988
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 February 1988 Texas Comptroller letter applying the then-current information-service rule. It says the opinion may change if the facts differ. Testing, laboratory, and information-service rules may have changed; verify current law and the present text of Rule 3.342 before relying on this historical classification. STAR documents may no longer represent current policy even when not marked superseded. Taxpayer-identifying details 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

The company provided environmental analytical sampling and testing for industry, government, consulting firms, and individuals. The Comptroller classified the described work as nontaxable information under Rule 3.342(d)(1).

The letter's body does not list water, wastewater, or soil separately, so the holding should not be extended beyond the company's described environmental analytical work.

What this means for you

In 1988, Texas treated this environmental sampling and testing activity as falling within the rule's nontaxable-information category. Current laboratory and information-service classifications should be checked independently.

Common questions

Were the described services taxable? No.

Who bought the services? The company served industry, government, consulting firms, and individuals.

What authority did the Comptroller cite? Rule 3.342(d)(1).

Citations and references

  • 34 Tex. Admin. Code Rule 3.342(d)(1) — historical information-service provision cited by the letter.

Source

Original ruling text

COMPTROLLER OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS
STATE OF TEXAS
AUSTIN, 78774

BOB BULLOCK
COMPTROLLER February 1, 1988

Dear **:

On behalf of Mr. Bullock, I hope you'll accept my apology for the delay
in
answering your question involving changes in the sales tax law. This
isn't
the way we normally do business.

Our people were, and still are, swamped by a deluge of inquiries as they
attempted to interpret provisions of the new law and draft rules which
would
not adversely impact businesses. In many instances, an answer to a
question
just wasn't available when the question arrived.

In your letter, you stated that your company provides environmental
analytical sampling and testing for industry, government, consulting
firms
and individuals. This is nontaxable information under Rule 3.342(d)(1).

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

Please feel free to contact me if you have additional questions. You may
write me, call toll free 1-800-531-5441 or phone 512/463-4600.

Sincerely,
Wayne McDonald
Tax Policy Division

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