Laws, Regulations and Annotations
Search
Business Taxes Law Guide—Revision 2024
Sales and Use Tax Annotations
A B C D E F G H I J L M N O P R S T U V W X
S
515.0000 Service Enterprises Generally—Regulation 1501
Annotation 515.1184
(e) Miscellaneous Activities
515.1184 Multiclient Research Reports. A taxpayer undertakes a research project after it determines the marketability of the reports. When there appears to be sufficient interest, the taxpayer will complete the research and produce a report of its findings. A customer can purchase the final report (five copies) and also the same number of copies of any "follow-up" reports when they are issued.
Under this scenario, the real object sought by each buyer is the report itself, which has an intrinsic value due to the information it contains. The taxpayer is not performing multiclient studies in which client's agree to fund the project's cost. Instead, the taxpayer sells reports, based on unfunded or speculative research, to all interested persons. In addition, both the primary reports and follow-up reports are more like books, complete in themselves, rather than separate issues of a related publication. Therefore, the taxpayer is a seller of printed matter and tax applies to the total amount charged for the reports. 3/29/84.