Ezel / Tax Rulings / TX
TX 9012L1061D11 Sales and/or Use Tax (State,Local,MTA) 1990-12-07

Did an aircraft used in a Texas aerial-photography business qualify as manufacturing equipment?

Short answer: No. Although necessary and essential to producing aerial photographs, the aircraft was not used directly in manufacturing them.

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 1990. Ezel answers yours, under current Texas tax law, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 1990
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 Code Rules 3.1 and 3.10); documents on STAR may no longer represent current policy even if not marked superseded.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

An aerial-photography business used an aircraft to produce aerial photographs.

The Comptroller said the aircraft did not qualify as manufacturing equipment. It could be necessary and essential to the business without being used directly to manufacture the photographs.

The letter compared the aircraft to other taxable support equipment, including intraplant transportation, office, and research-and-development equipment that may be useful or necessary to manufacturing but is not used directly in production.

What this means for you

Necessity alone did not satisfy the manufacturing-equipment test described in the letter. The equipment had to be used directly in manufacturing the product.

Common questions

Did the aircraft qualify as manufacturing equipment? No.

Why not? It was not used directly in manufacturing the photographs.

Did the Comptroller dispute that the aircraft was necessary or essential? No. The letter said it may have been necessary and essential but still did not qualify.

Citations and references

The letter did not cite a statute or administrative rule.

Source

Original ruling text

COMPTROLLER OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS

STATE OF TEXAS

AUSTIN, TEXAS 78774

BOB BULLOCK

Comptroller December 7, 1990

Dear ** :

Thank you for your recent letter concerning the aircraft that you use in your aerial photography business.

Although the aircraft may be necessary and essential to produce aerial photographs, the aircraft does not qualify as manufacturing equipment. The aircraft is not used directly in manufacturing the photographs. Other types of support equipment, such as intraplant transportation equipment, office equipment, research and development equipment, etc., are taxable also, although useful or necessary to the manufacture of a product.

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 any additional questions. You may write me, call toll free 1- 800-252-5555 (ext. 3-4685) from anywhere in the United States or phone 512/463-4685.

Sincerely,

Julie Pesl

Tax Correspondence

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