NYS-Tax Law provides an exemption from the tax imposed on sales of tangible personal property for food sold for human consumption!

NYS-Tax Law provides an exemption from the tax imposed on sales of tangible personal property for food sold for human consumption. The sales and use tax regulations provide that the phrase sold for human consumption means that the items sold are, in their normal use, regarded as being for human consumption.” Pie pumpkins (i.e., sugar, deep red, golden cushaw, etc.) and similar gourds generally used by a purchaser in cooking pies, cakes, breads, cookies, etc. constitute food sold for human consumption and are not subject to sales tax.

Decorative and carving pumpkins (e.g., Connecticut field, etc.), like other decorative gourds, are not being marketed or sold, in their normal or intended use, for human consumption. Thus, decorative and carving pumpkins and other decorative gourds whether sold at supermarkets, farm stands, nurseries, or other businesses, are not sold as food, and constitute tangible personal property subject to sales tax.

To Read More: NYS-Tax Law provides an exemption from the tax imposed on sales of tangible personal property for food sold for human consumption!

Source: Business Documents Filing In All 50 States

NYS-Sales and Compensating Use Tax Treatment of Certain Information Services

Tax Department policy regarding taxable information services:

A wide variety of businesses are engaged in furnishing taxable information services. As a general rule, furnishing information created or generated from a common database, or information that is widely accessible, is a taxable information service. The sale of a report that uses or relies on statistical models or historical data is also generally considered to be a taxable information service, as is the service of gathering information from a variety of sources and recasting that information into a report. The resulting reports are not considered personal or individual in nature because they contain information that can be incorporated into reports furnished to other persons. A sale includes the sale of a single report and also includes an ongoing payment for access to information, such as a subscription.

Whether a service qualifies as an information service depends on its primary function. The fact that one element of a service is an information service does not mean that the service as a whole is taxable as an information service. The Tax Department will determine a service’s primary function based on an examination of the nature of the service being sold and what is being paid for by the purchaser. How the buyer subsequently uses the information purchased is not relevant to this inquiry. If a customer’s chief purpose in paying for a service is to receive information from that service, whether it is the price of a stock, the chain of ownership of real property, or contact information for a person meeting certain qualifications, the service as a whole qualifies as an information service. This result holds true even if the customer receives other benefits as part of the service. A service is taxable as an information service if its primary function is one of the following:

• Advertising rate reports for a given medium or market
• Archive services (examples include sales of access to historical information, documents and manuscripts, archived articles or journals)
• College selection services and financial assistance information services (examples include college and scholarship search services)
• Consumer product reports, such as product evaluations
• credit monitoring services
• Directory and mailing list services (examples include the sale of customer lists, lists of postal mailing addresses, lists of e-mail addresses, lists of bad checks, telephone directories, business directories, collections of fact, price lists and almanacs, collections or compilations of proprietary drug trials, and compilations of legal case results)
• Employment history reports
• Employment placement reports and employment registries (examples include
• Employment databases, babysitting registries, and model registries), but not charges merely to post information
• genealogical research services;
• Information furnished by credit reporting bureaus;
• Internet-based data and Web search services (examples include Internet entertainment information sites, Internet sports information sites, Internet newsletters, and Internet search portals and search Web sites);
• Investment reports and services (examples include stock market reports and forecasts, mutual fund rating services, and stock quotation services);
• Matching or networking services (examples include online dating services, physician matching services, and contractor locator services), but not charges merely to post information;
• News clipping services (examples include services providing individual news or
• Magazine articles on a given subject);
• Newsletter subscriptions (however, newspapers and periodicals are not taxable);
• Online telephone or address directory services;
• Patent search services (unless provided by an attorney in the practice of law);
• Pedigree record services (for example, an online directory);
• People or parts locator services (examples include online classmate locator services or online vintage car parts locator services);
• Public records furnished (electronically or in paper format) by a private entity, such as a document retrieval service (examples include real property deeds, motor vehicle accident or violation reports, etc.; however, public records sold by a governmental entity, such as a county clerk, are not subject to tax; for more information, see Public documents sold by private entities below);
• Real property information databases (but if the database provides only access to public documents as such see Public documents sold by private entities below);
• Reporting services that compile news stories or issues related to a certain topic;
• Reports or databases of information on movies, books, or other media;
• Sports scouting reports;
• Sports statistics or athletic performance reports (examples include horse racing handicapping or tip sheets, and fantasy baseball or fantasy football reports); and survey results (examples include marketing and public opinion research reports).

The absence of a service from this list does not mean that it is not subject to tax under Voluntary Disclosure and Compliance program.

Taxpayers, including sellers of information services, are eligible for the Tax Department’s Voluntary Disclosure and Compliance program. The goal of the program is to encourage taxpayers to voluntarily disclose and correct delinquent tax liabilities and avoid penalties.

To Read More: NYS-Sales and Compensating Use Tax Treatment of Certain Information Services

Source: Business Document Filing in All 50 States.

NYS-Sales and Use Tax on retail sales of tangible personal property and enumerated services!

Tax Law section 1105 imposes sales and use tax on retail sales of tangible personal property and enumerated services. Prewritten computer software is included within the definition of tangible personal property, “regardless of the medium by means of which such software is conveyed to the purchaser.” Tax Law §1101(b)(6). Prewritten software, even though modified or enhanced to the specifications of a specific purchaser, remains prewritten software subject to tax. However, if a charge for the custom modification or enhancement is reasonable and separately stated on the invoice or billing statement, then the separately stated charge for the custom modification or enhancement is not subject to tax. See Tax Law §1101(b)(6); State and Local Sales and Compensating Use Taxes Imposed on Certain Sales of Computer Software, TSB-M-93(3)S.

Section 526.7(e) of the Sales and Use Tax Regulations provides generally that “a sale is taxable at the place where the tangible personal property or service is delivered, or the point at which possession is transferred by the vendor to the purchaser or his designee.” Section 526.7(e)(4) further provides that, with respect to a “license to use,” a transfer of possession has occurred if there is a transfer of actual or constructive possession, or if there has been a transfer of “the right to use, or control or direct the use of, tangible personal property.”

To the extent that the CSA also involves custom modifications of software, separate charges for that service would not be subject to tax if the charges are reasonable in relation to the total charges.

To Read More: NYS-Sales and Use Tax on retail sales of tangible personal property and enumerated services!

Source: Business Documents Filing In All 50 States

NYS-Sales and Compensating Use Tax Treatment of Certain Information Services

Sales and Compensating Use Tax Treatment of Certain Information Services

Tax Department policy regarding taxable information services:

A wide variety of businesses are engaged in furnishing taxable information services. As a general rule, furnishing information created or generated from a common database, or information that is widely accessible, is a taxable information service. The sale of a report that uses or relies on statistical models or historical data is also generally considered to be a taxable information service, as is the service of gathering information from a variety of sources and recasting that information into a report. The resulting reports are not considered personal or individual in nature because they contain information that can be incorporated into reports furnished to other persons. A sale includes the sale of a single report and also includes an ongoing payment for access to information, such as a subscription.

Whether a service qualifies as an information service depends on its primary function. The fact that one element of a service is an information service does not mean that the service as a whole is taxable as an information service. The Tax Department will determine a service’s primary function based on an examination of the nature of the service being sold and what is being paid for by the purchaser. How the buyer subsequently uses the information purchased is not relevant to this inquiry. If a customer’s chief purpose in paying for a service is to receive information from that service, whether it is the price of a stock, the chain of ownership of real property, or contact information for a person meeting certain qualifications, the service as a whole qualifies as an information service. This result holds true even if the customer receives other benefits as part of the service. A service is taxable as an information service if its primary function is one of the following:

· advertising rate reports for a given medium or market

· archive services (examples include sales of access to historical information, documents and manuscripts, archived articles or journals)

· college selection services and financial assistance information services (examples include college and scholarship search services)

· consumer product reports, such as product evaluations

· credit monitoring services

· directory and mailing list services (examples include the sale of customer lists, lists of postal mailing addresses, lists of e-mail addresses, lists of bad checks, telephone directories, business directories, collections of fact, price lists and almanacs, collections or compilations of proprietary drug trials, and compilations of legal case results)

· employment history reports

· employment placement reports and employment registries (examples include

· employment databases, babysitting registries, and model registries), but not charges merely to post information

· genealogical research services;

· information furnished by credit reporting bureaus;

· Internet-based data and Web search services (examples include Internet entertainment information sites, Internet sports information sites, Internet newsletters, and Internet search portals and search Web sites);

· investment reports and services (examples include stock market reports and forecasts, mutual fund rating services, and stock quotation services);

· matching or networking services (examples include online dating services, physician matching services, and contractor locator services), but not charges merely to post information;

· news clipping services (examples include services providing individual news or

· magazine articles on a given subject);

· newsletter subscriptions (however, newspapers and periodicals are not taxable);

· online telephone or address directory services;

· patent search services (unless provided by an attorney in the practice of law);

· pedigree record services (for example, an online directory);

· people or parts locator services (examples include online classmate locator services or online vintage car parts locator services);

· public records furnished (electronically or in paper format) by a private entity, such as a document retrieval service (examples include real property deeds, motor vehicle accident or violation reports, etc.; however, public records sold by a governmental entity, such as a county clerk, are not subject to tax; for more information, see Public documents sold by private entities below);

· real property information databases (but if the database provides only access to public documents as such see Public documents sold by private entities below);

· reporting services that compile news stories or issues related to a certain topic;

· reports or databases of information on movies, books, or other media;

· sports scouting reports;

· sports statistics or athletic performance reports (examples include horse racing handicapping or tip sheets, and fantasy baseball or fantasy football reports); and survey results (examples include marketing and public opinion research reports).

The absence of a service from this list does not mean that it is not subject to tax under

Voluntary Disclosure and Compliance program

Taxpayers, including sellers of information services, are eligible for the Tax Department’s Voluntary Disclosure and Compliance program. The goal of the program is to encourage taxpayers to voluntarily disclose and correct delinquent tax liabilities and avoid penalties.

To Read More: NYS-Sales and Compensating Use Tax Treatment of Certain Information Services

Source: Business Documents Filing In All 50 States