Florida Division of Earnings Concludes That On line Mastering Assistance Is Matter to Communications Products and services Tax

The Florida Section of Income issued a Specialized Aid Advisement concluding that a taxpayer’s on the internet learning companies had been issue to the state’s Communications Providers Tax (“CST”) as a “video service” (statutorily described as “the transmission of movie, audio, or other programming assistance to a purchaser …” and involves “digital video”), even though the taxpayer’s income of an interior e-mail support ended up nontaxable “information services.” Florida Dep’t of Income, Complex Aid Advisement 22A19-002R (Oct. 7, 2022).

The taxpayer operated an on the web skilled networking platform that permitted its members to join and take a look at profession possibilities. The taxpayer’s interior e mail support permitted members to ship each other inner email messages. The taxpayer’s on the internet discovering company delivered instructional movie programs accessible to stream or download.

The Division concluded that the taxpayer’s product sales of the interior e-mail support have been nontaxable “information services” (which are statutorily excluded from the CST) because the purchaser’s “primary purpose” was to receive information or data.

However, the Division concluded that the online finding out assistance was topic to CST for the reason that it “involved” the transmission of digital online video. The taxpayer asserted that the on the web studying service must be characterised as a tax-exempt information provider and the Office did not disagree that this may perhaps be the underlying goal of the assistance. However, the Department mentioned that the “the underlying objective of the video support is irrelevant” simply because there is no “primary purpose” test in pinpointing no matter if one thing is a “video service” for CST uses (in contrast to determining irrespective of whether one thing is a nontaxable “information service”).

In modern yrs, we have viewed the Division acquire progressively broader interpretations of “video service” as it makes an attempt to develop the scope of the CST. The Department’s summary here that the online studying support is a taxable movie support just mainly because it “involves” the transmission of a digital movie appears to be an enlargement of the statutory language (“involve” is not a statutory term) and a slim check out of the character of the particular transaction at difficulty. In fact, it is unclear why the Division thinks a “primary purpose” check should implement only to nontaxable “information service” determinations and not to other taxability determinations less than the CST statute. Additionally, the Department tries to override the “primary purpose” take a look at for nontaxable data providers by concluding that any services involving components of a “video service” is taxable, no matter of regardless of whether it could usually qualify as a nontaxable facts assistance. This is a questionable interpretation of the statutory language.