| (a) Definitions. The following words and terms, when
used in this section, shall have the following meanings, unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise.
(1) Cable television services--This term has the meaning
as assigned by §3.313 of this title (relating to Cable Television
Services).
(2) Data processing services--This term has the meaning
as assigned by §3.330 of this title (relating to Data Processing
Services).
(3) In or during--Within the course of an actual activity,
such as transmission or routing. For example, a cable carrying a cable
television services' signal to a customer's home is used in or during
the conveyance of the signal in order to provide cable television
services. In contrast, equipment merely used while the cable is carrying
the signal, such as office furniture or an air conditioning system,
is not used in or during the conveyance of the services.
(4) Information services--This term has the same meaning
as assigned by §3.342 of this title (relating to Information
Services).
(5) Internet access services--This term has the same
meaning as assigned by §3.366 of this title (relating to Internet
Access Services).
(6) Provider--A seller, as defined by §3.286 of
this title (relating to Seller's and Purchaser's Responsibilities,
including Nexus, Permits, Returns and Reporting Periods, Collection
and Exemption Rules, and Criminal Penalties) and §3.344 of this
title (relating to Telecommunications Services), who supplies or otherwise
makes available cable television services, Internet access services,
or telecommunications services to the public, or a segment of the
public, for consideration.
(7) Qualifying purchase--Tangible personal property:
(A) purchased, leased, or rented by a provider or a
subsidiary of a provider on which sales and use tax was paid by the
provider or the subsidiary; and
(B) that is directly used or consumed by the provider
or the subsidiary in or during:
(i) the distribution of cable television services by
the sending or relaying of video programming for the fulfillment of
cable television services, to subscribing or paying customers;
(ii) the provision of Internet access services by making
available to the public, or a segment of the public, for consideration
the means or method by which users can connect individual computer
terminals, computers, mobile devices, or computer networks to the
Internet; or
(iii) the transmission by the process of creating,
converting, sending, or propagating, for reception elsewhere, sounds
or symbols into an analog or digital information signal, by telegraph,
telephone, satellite, facsimile, or any other method now in existence
or that may be devised, including Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP),
via any medium, such as wire, coaxial cable, microwave, optical fiber,
or radio frequency; conveyance by the carriage, as by an outdoor telephone
line or a satellite beam; routing by the selection of conveyance pathways;
or reception by the acquisition, as by a satellite dish, of a telecommunications
services' signal, where the transmission, conveyance, routing, or
reception is specific to the direct provision of the services to the
customer or a general or limited area, whether the signal remains
in its original form or is subsequently amplified, filtered, encoded,
decoded, or otherwise altered.
(C) Qualifying purchases do not include supporting
or ancillary functions, such as office operations, field operations,
marketing, transportation, warehousing, data storage, or similar operations
that do not directly result in the distribution of cable television
services; the provision of Internet access services; or the transmission,
conveyance, routing, or reception of telecommunications services.
(8) Refund request date--
(A) September 2, 2014, for tax paid September 1, 2013,
through December 31, 2013, on qualifying purchases made on or after
September 1, 2013.
(B) For tax paid on or after January 1, 2014, on qualifying
purchases made on or after September 1, 2013, March 31 of the year
immediately following the calendar year in which the tax was paid.
If March 31 falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the refund
request date will be the next business day. For example, a refund
request for taxes paid during calendar year 2014 on qualifying purchases
made on or after September 1, 2013, is due by March 31, 2015.
(9) Requestor--The provider or subsidiary of a provider
submitting the refund request.
(10) Subsidiary of a provider--A subsidiary, as defined
in Business Organizations Code, §1.002(85), for which a cable
television service provider, Internet access service provider, or
telecommunications service provider is the parent, as that term is
defined in Business Organizations Code, §1.002(65).
(11) Telecommunications services--This term has the
same meaning as assigned by §3.344 of this title.
(b) Persons eligible for refund request. Providers
of cable television, Internet access, and telecommunications services
and their subsidiaries are entitled to request a refund under this
section.
(c) Sales and use tax eligible for refund.
(1) State sales and use taxes paid on qualifying purchases
made on or after September 1, 2013, are eligible for a refund under
this section.
(2) Local sales and use taxes are not eligible for
a refund under this section.
(3) Sales and use taxes paid on property directly used
or consumed in or during the provision, creation, or production of
data processing services or information services are not eligible
for a refund under this section, except when those services are provided
in conjunction with and are merely incidental to the provision of
Internet access services, as set out in §3.366(a)(2) of this
title.
(d) Request for refund.
(1) The total amount of state sales and use tax that
can be refunded to all requestors pursuant to this section for any
one calendar year is $50 million.
(2) Each requestor must file the refund request electronically
or in the format prescribed by the comptroller. The postmark date
or its electronic equivalent on a refund request determines the filing
date.
(A) A requestor required to file a refund request electronically
who is unable to do so due to hardship, impracticality, or other valid
reason may submit a written request to the comptroller for a waiver
of the requirement and authorization of an alternative filing method.
A waiver must be requested no later than 30 days prior to the refund
request date. If the 30th day falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal
holiday, the waiver must be requested by the next business day.
(B) A requestor filing a refund request electronically
may use an application provided by the comptroller, software provided
by the comptroller, or commercially available software that satisfies
requirements prescribed by the comptroller.
(3) The refund request must contain the following information
for each transaction for which a refund of sales and use taxes is
requested:
(A) the requestor's name, address, and taxpayer identification
number;
(B) if the requestor is a subsidiary of a provider,
the parent provider's name, address, and taxpayer identification number;
(C) identification of the provider's industry as either,
cable television service, Internet access service, or telecommunications
service;
(D) the name, address, and taxpayer identification
number of the seller of the qualifying purchase for each identified
transaction;
(E) the invoice number, if applicable, for each identified
transaction;
(F) the amount of sales and use tax paid on the qualifying
purchase and the manner in which the tax was paid, such as accrued
and paid by the provider or paid to the seller;
(G) the date of each transaction;
(H) a description of each item, or like items, purchased;
(I) the purchase amount of each item subject to refund;
and
(J) the total amount of sales and use tax refund requested
per item identified.
(4) A refund request submitted pursuant to this section
is subject to audit verification.
(A) Additional information may be requested during
the verification process.
(B) If the comptroller requests in writing additional
information, the person requesting the refund must submit the requested
information within 30 calendar days.
(C) A request will be reduced by a determination that
the request includes:
(i) items that are not qualifying purchases;
(ii) items on which no sales or use tax was paid;
(iii) items without supporting documentation; or
Cont'd... |
