Ezel / Tax Rulings / TX
TX 8906L0945E08 Sales and/or Use Tax (State,Local,MTA) 1989-06-30

Which city publications did the 1989 letter treat as tax-exempt open-records documents?

Short answer: Budget, audit, street-guide, and thoroughfare-plan sales were exempt; sales of uniform building, mechanical, plumbing, and electrical codes were taxable.

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 1989. Ezel answers yours, under current Texas tax law, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 1989
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 Code Rules 3.1 and 3.10); documents on STAR may no longer represent current policy even if not marked superseded.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 city did not need to collect tax on sales of its annual budget report, street guide, annual audit report, or thoroughfare plan because the letter treated them as documents available under the open-records law.

It did need to collect tax on sales of the Uniform Building Code, Uniform Mechanical Code, Uniform Plumbing Code, and National Electric Code.

The official STAR text adds a later alert: Rule 3.341 was repealed effective February 11, 2008, and its content was incorporated into Rule 3.322(h)(5), effective July 19, 2011. Readers should therefore use the lists as the 1989 holding and consult the later rule location for current treatment.

Common questions

Were all city publications exempt? No.

Which listed reports and plans were exempt? The annual budget, street guide, annual audit, and thoroughfare plan.

Does STAR flag a later rule change? Yes.

Source

Original ruling text

ALERT: Rule 3.341 concerning Governmental Publications, Records or Documents
has been repealed effective 02/11/2008. The content of Rule 3.341 has been
incorporated into subsection (h)(5) of Rule 3.322 concerning Exempt
Organizations effective 07/19/2011.

June 30, 1989

Dear ***:

I'd like to take a minute to respond to your questions on sales of
publications by the CITY A.

Sales tax is normally due on sales of publications and general
information by governmental bodies. By the same token, sales of documents that
are available to the public under the open records act are exempt from tax.

You will not be required to charge tax on sales of your:

  • Annual Budget Report
  • Street Guide (not a book map)
  • Annual Audit Report or
  • Thoroughfare Plan

You should charge tax on sales of your:

  • Uniform Building Code
  • Uniform Mechanical Code
  • Uniform plumbing Code or
  • National Electric Code.

Feel free to call or write me if you have questions. You can reach me by
calling toll free 800-531-5441 or FAX (512) 475-0900.

Sincerely,

Al Van Allen
Taxability Section
Legal Services Division

Get today's answer for your situation

You just read a 1989 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.