For local-option sales tax purposes, does a fishing guide's sale get reported in the county where the guide's shop is located, or the county where the guided trip actually happens?

Plain-English summary

A rural Utah county asked the Tax Commission to change its "point of sale" sourcing policy for local-option sales tax, because a large number of fly-fishing guides operating on its reservoir and river reported and paid their local sales tax to the county where their shop was located rather than the county where they actually guided — even though the county providing emergency, law-enforcement, and court services to two million annual visitors got none of the tax revenue.

The Commission declined to change course from its earlier ruling on the same question (Advisory Opinion 95-046DJ, 1995), holding that a 1999 Utah Supreme Court property-tax case the county cited (Salt Lake City v. Property Tax Div., 979 P.2d 346 (Utah 1999)) didn't apply — that case interpreted a Utah Constitution property-tax apportionment provision, unrelated to sales-tax sourcing.

Under Utah Code Ann. § 59-12-207 and the Commission's rules, where a sale is taxed turns on the seller's place(s) of business, not on where the service is actually delivered, with three scenarios:

1. One fixed place of business: all sales are reported there, regardless of where the guide service happens — unless a third-party agent in a different location actually sells the service on the guide's behalf, in which case the sale is reported where the agent is (the ruling's example: a ticket seller booking a Utah Jazz game reports the sale as occurring where the Jazz's own office is, not the ticket seller's).
2. More than one place of business: the sale is sourced to wherever the service is actually delivered.
3. No fixed place of business: the seller must report each sale in the county where it was actually made.

What this means for you

Local governments relying on tourism/service-tax revenue

If your county hosts recreational businesses (guides, tour operators) headquartered elsewhere, don't assume local tax dollars follow the tourists — sourcing follows the seller's business structure. The Commission suggested cross-checking local business licenses against sales tax filings to spot guides or shops that may be misreporting.

Guide services, tour operators, and similar mobile-service businesses

Where you report local-option sales tax depends on your business setup: a single fixed shop reports everywhere it sells from that shop; using a booking agent elsewhere shifts the sourcing to the agent's location; and if you have no fixed location at all, you must track and report county-by-county where each sale actually happens.

Accountants and tax professionals

This is a sourcing-rules ruling, not an exemption ruling — every scenario described is taxable; the only question is which county's local-option tax applies. The rule hierarchy (R865-12L-5 single/multiple location, R865-12L-9 no fixed location, R865-12L-13 dispatched-repair-services) is the load-bearing authority; § 59-12-207 just authorizes the Commission to make these rules.

Common questions

Q: Does where the fishing trip (or other service) actually happens matter for local sales tax?
A: Only if the seller has no fixed place of business, or has multiple locations participating in the sale. Otherwise, the seller's single fixed location controls — the trip's location is irrelevant.

Q: What if I sell through an agent in another city?
A: If the agent is genuinely making the sale on your behalf (the ruling's ticket-broker/Utah Jazz example), the sale sources to the agent's location, not yours.

Q: Does this ruling apply to my business?
A: A private letter ruling binds the Commission only as to the taxpayer and facts it was issued for. Others may cite it for its reasoning, but it doesn't guarantee the same result on different facts.

Citations and references

Statutes and rules:

• Utah Code Ann. § 59-12-207 (reporting location)
• Utah Admin. Rule R865-12L-5 (place of sale)
• Utah Admin. Rule R865-12L-9 (sellers with no fixed place of business)
• Utah Admin. Rule R865-12L-13 (dispatched repair/service charges)

Case law:

• Salt Lake City v. Property Tax Div., 979 P.2d 346 (Utah 1999) — held inapplicable (property-tax apportionment, not sales-tax sourcing)

Prior Commission opinion reaffirmed:

• Advisory Opinion 95-046DJ (1995)

Source

• Landing page: https://tax.utah.gov/commission/rulings/
• Original PDF: https://files.tax.utah.gov/tax/commission/ruling/00-019.htm

Original ruling text

00-019

Response September 7, 2000

REQUEST LETTER

00-019

May 8, 2000

Dear Mr. NAME,

I am writing to request an advisory opinion regarding a sales tax
problem that we have encountered in COUNTY County. As you are probably aware, the RESERVOIR Reservoir and the RIVER
are located in our county. We have a
very large number of fish guides that do business in our county. Some of the guides have their main place of
business in counties other that COUNTY.
They submit their sales tax to the county where their business is
located (point of sale) rather than to the county where the trip actually takes
place - COUNTY County.

There are approximately ##### full time residents in COUNTY
County. We do however have around #####
visitors a year. COUNTY County is
responsible for EMT's, ambulance, Search and Rescue, law enforcement and courts
that take care of these two million visitors.
We are acquiring a very large expense without any offsetting
revenues. With a very small tax base,
this puts a very large burden on the county residents. We feel that the only logical and fair way
to distribute this tax would be trip origination rather that point of
sale. We believe that this is
consistent with the Supreme Court case in the Salt lake Airport matter and that
the tax revenue should go to the county providing the services and directly
impacted by the activity.

Please review our request and if you have questions or wish to visit
with me regarding this request, please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely

RESPONSE
LETTER

September 7, 2000

RE: Advisory Opinion Request Concerning Point
of Sale

Dear Ms. NAME,

You have asked us to reconsider our response in Tax Commission
Advisory Opinion 95-046DJ, in which we set forth a Apoint of sale@ policy to address the same concerns you asked about in 1995. You state that reconsideration is warranted
because the decision subsequently rendered by the Utah Supreme Court in Salt
Lake City v. Property Tax Div., 368 Utah Adv. Rep. 36, 979 P.2d 346 (1999),
is in conflict with the answer we previously gave you. However, the Court=s decision in Salt Lake City concerned
article XIII, section 10 of the Utah Constitution, a provision pertaining to
property taxation, and addressed whether the Property Tax Division=s apportionment methods violated this
provision. This property tax provision
and the Court=s interpretation of it does not affect sales
tax issues such as the one you ask about.

Utah Code Ann. '59-12-207, however, does address how the point of sale is
determined. That section provides that:

All
sales and use taxes collected under this part shall be reported to the
commission on forms which accurately identify the location where the sale or
use transaction was consummated. If a retailer has no permanent place of
business in the state or has more than one place of business, the place or
places at which the retail sales are consummated for the purposes of this part
shall be determined under rules of the commission . . . .

This section specifically grants the Tax Commission the authority to
determine by rule where a retail sale is consummated when the retailer has no
permanent place of business in the state or has more than one place of
business. The Tax Commission has
adopted Utah Admin. Rules R865-12L-5 and R865-12L-9 to address these
situations, pertinent parts as follows:

R865‑12L‑5. Place of Sale Pursuant to Utah Code Ann.
Section 59‑12‑207.

A.
All retail sales shall be deemed to occur at the place of business of the
retailer.

. . . .

C. If a seller has more than one place of business
in Utah, and if two or more of such locations participate in the sale, the sale
occurs at the place of business where the tangible personal property is located
or the place from which it is shipped or delivered.

R865‑12L‑9. Sellers With No Fixed Place of Business
Pursuant to Utah Code Ann. Section 59‑12‑207.

A. A seller with no fixed or determinable place
of business in Utah, making sales from different and variable locations within
Utah, will be required to report such sales on the basis of the county in which
they are made . . . .

To specifically address the situation where a business may have one
office from which its repairmen and servicemen are dispatched to work in others
cities and counties, Utah Admin. Rule R865-12L-13 provides that A[c]harges for repairs, renovations, or other
taxable services to tangible personal property are assigned to the office or
place of business out of which the repairman or serviceman works . . . ,
regardless of where in Utah the service or labor is performed.@

Section 59-12-207 and the rules discussed above have not changed
substantively since we answered your request in 1995. Though we have reconsidered the issue because of the impact it so
obviously has on your county, we still find that the response in Advisory
Opinion 95-046DJ offers the most effective interpretation of the statute
and rules. Accordingly, we reconfirm
the pertinent portions of Advisory Opinion 95-046DJ that address your
request and include them below with only slight modifications.

1. Under Rule R865-12L-5, when a retailer
   has only one place of business, all of the retailer's sales are deemed to occur
   at that place of business regardless of
   where the service is performed or the goods are delivered. Therefore, if the guide services are sold
   from a shop doing business only in Salt Lake, the sales tax is reported at that
   location, even if the actual activity takes place in COUNTY County.

An exception to this rule arises if the
vendor uses a third party agent to market his product or services. For example, when the Smiths in Provo sells
tickets to a Jazz game in Salt Lake City, the sales tax is reported by the Jazz
as if the sale took place in Salt Lake City.
In that case, the Jazz is selling the ticket, and Smiths is merely an
agent. Applying this exception to fly
fishing in COUNTY County, if a fly fishing guide who has a fixed place of
business in COUNTY County pays a commission to a third party in Salt Lake to
sell the guide's services in COUNTY County, the sales tax must be reported by
the fly fishing guide in COUNTY County.
However, the opposite is true if the guide is acting as a contract
employee of a Salt Lake tackle shop. In
that case, the tackle shop sells the service which is merely delivered by the
guide in COUNTY County, and the tackle shop must report the sale in Salt Lake
City.

2. Under Rule R865-12L-5, if the seller
   has more than one place of business in Utah and two or more such locations
   participate in the sale, the sale occurs at the place of business where the tangible
   property is located. Although the
   language of the rule does not address taxable services, it is logically
   extended to the location where the service takes place.

Assume that a Salt Lake tackle shop has a
place of business in Salt Lake and a business license in COUNTY County.
Accordingly, if the reservation takes place in the Salt Lake tackle
shop, but the service delivered in COUNTY County, the sale should be reported
in COUNTY County.

3. Rule R865-12L-9 states that when the
   seller has no fixed place of business and makes sales at various locations
   within the state, the seller is required to report all sales in the county
   where they are made. For instance,
   assume a guide does not have a fixed place of business. Instead he arranges his sales through third
   party agents at tackle shops in Salt Lake City, but he conducts business on the
   shore at Flaming Gorge and in other locations around the state. He must report each sale in the county where
   the services are provided.

As before, we suggest you check your sales tax report against the
business licenses in your county. If
you find that fishing guides or tackle shops licensed to do business in your
county are not reporting sales tax in your county, inquire into their business
arrangements to determine if they are reporting sales tax properly.

For the Commission,

Marc B. Johnson

Commissioner