Ezel / Tax Rulings / TX
TX 8909L0973A03 Sales and/or Use Tax (State,Local,MTA) 1989-09-18

Did the 1989 nonprofit-publication exemption cover books, magazines, newsletters, and other writings produced and sold by a chamber of commerce?

Short answer: No. The new exemption covered writings published and distributed by specified nonprofit religious, philanthropic, charitable, historical, or scientific organizations, but not civic organizations. The chamber of commerce therefore had to collect sales tax on its publication sales.

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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 Code Rules 3.1 and 3.10); documents on STAR may no longer represent current policy even if not marked superseded.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

New legislation effective August 28, 1989 exempted books, magazines, newsletters, and other writings published and distributed by certain nonprofit religious, philanthropic, charitable, historical, or scientific organizations. It did not include nonprofit educational organizations.

The Comptroller also said the exemption did not cover civic organizations. A chamber of commerce therefore had to collect sales tax on publications it produced and distributed in-house for members and the general public.

Common questions

Were the chamber's publication sales exempt? No.

Why not? The chamber was a civic organization, a category outside the stated exemption.

What date did the new exemption take effect? August 28, 1989.

Source

Original ruling text

COMPTROLLER OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS
STATE OF TEXAS
AUSTIN, 78774

September 18, 1989

Dear ***:

Thank you for your letter regarding exemption from collecting
sales tax on publications produced and distributed in-house for
the benefit of the members and general public.

New legislation effective August 28, 1989, provides that no tax
will be due on the sale of books, magazines, newsletters and other
writings that are published and distributed by certain non-profit
organizations. This includes religious, philanthropic, charitable,
historical, or scientific organizations. But it does not include
non-profit educational organizations.

The above exemption does not include publications published and
distributed by civic organizations. Therefore, the Chamber of
Commerce is not exempt from collecting the sales tax on the sale
of its publications.

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 additional information, you may
call 463-4600. You may write to Tax Correspondence, Comptroller
of Public Accounts.

Sincerely,
Jo Ann Dieck
Tax Correspondence

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