Ezel / Tax Rulings / TX
TX 8804L0864D11 Sales and/or Use Tax (State,Local,MTA) 1988-04-13

Did Texas's $25 sales-tax permit fee or state and local sales and use taxes apply to the National Railroad Passenger Corporation?

Short answer: No. The letter said the permit fee did not apply and that the National Railroad Passenger Corporation was exempt from state and local sales and use tax under the cited federal provision.

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 an official 1988 Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts letter to the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, published on STAR. The $25 permit fee and the printed federal citation are historical; the source prints the authority as “45 U.S.A. 546b,” and this summary does not silently correct it. Verify the current federal provision and Texas exemption before relying on the result. Another taxpayer should not treat this Amtrak-specific letter as binding. STAR documents may no longer represent current policy. 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 Comptroller said the historical $25 sales-tax permit fee did not apply to the National Railroad Passenger Corporation.

The letter also said the corporation was exempt from Texas state and local sales and use tax and from the state's sales-tax permit fee under the federal authority printed in the source as “45 U.S.A. 546b.”

What this means for you

This was an Amtrak-specific exemption conclusion based on a cited federal provision. The source's citation should be checked rather than silently normalized because the printed abbreviation may be erroneous or obsolete.

Common questions

Did Amtrak owe the $25 permit fee? No.

Did the letter treat Amtrak as exempt from state and local sales and use tax? Yes.

What authority did the letter print? “45 U.S.A. 546b.”

Citations and references

  • 45 U.S.A. 546b, exactly as printed in the official STAR text.

Source

Original ruling text

COMPTROLLER OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS
STATE OF TEXAS
AUSTIN, 78774

April 13, 1988

Dear ***:

Thank you for your letter of March 14, 1988, concerning the $25.00 sales
tax
permit fee.

The $25.00 permit fee does not apply to the National Railroad Passenger
Corporation (the Corporation). The Corporation is exempt from state and
local sales and use tax and the states sales tax permit fee under 45
U.S.A.
546b.

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 our
toll-free
number 1-800-531-5441. The regular number is 512/463-4600. You may
write me
at the Tax Policy Division.

Sincerely,
Eddie C. Washington
Tax Policy Division

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