California Code of Regulations › Title 18 - Public Revenues › Division 2 - California Department of Tax and Fee Administration- Business Taxes (State Board of Equalization- Business Taxes, See Ch. 6 and 9.9) › Chapter 4 - Sales and Use Tax › Article 7 - Specific Kinds of Property and Exemptions Generally › Section 1590 - Newspapers and Periodicals

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
(a)
				  Definitions.
(1) "Digital-Only Subscription."
				  A "digital-only subscription" means a subscription to access digital content
				  from a newspaper publisher, without any print edition delivery.
(2) "Digital-Only Subscription Rate."
				  "Digital-only subscription rate" means the average of all the actual rates a
				  newspaper publisher charges its customers for digital-only subscriptions,
				  except the rates for promotional or introductory subscriptions as defined in
				  subdivision (a)(l2).
(3)
				  "Distributor." "Distributor" means any person who acquires newspapers or
				  periodicals for subsequent distribution to retailers or newspaper
				  carriers.
(4) "Ingredient or
				  Component Part of a Newspaper or Periodical." The term "ingredient or component
				  part of a newspaper or periodical" includes only those items that become
				  physically incorporated into the publication and not those which are merely
				  consumed or used in the production of the publication. For example, newsprint
				  and ink are ingredients of a newspaper; however, a photograph does not become
				  an ingredient or component part of a newspaper or periodical merely because the
				  image of the photograph is reproduced in the publication.
Handbills, circulars, flyers, order forms, reply envelopes,
					 maps or the like are component parts of a newspaper or periodical when attached
					 to or inserted in and distributed with the newspaper or
					 periodical.
(5) "Mixed
				  Newspaper Subscription." "Mixed newspaper subscription" means and includes a
				  subscription for delivery of the print edition of a newspaper to a location
				  provided by the customer and access to digital content from the newspaper
				  publisher.
(6) "Mixed Newspaper
				  Subscription Rate." "Mixed newspaper subscription rate" means the total amount
				  a newspaper publisher charges its customer for a mixed newspaper subscription,
				  including any charges for transportation and sales tax reimbursement.
(7) "Newspaper." The term "newspaper" as used
				  herein is limited to those publications which are commonly understood to be
				  newspapers and which are printed and distributed periodically at daily, weekly,
				  or other short intervals for the dissemination of news of a general character
				  and of a general interest. The term does not include handbills, circulars,
				  flyers, or the like, unless distributed as a part of a publication which
				  constitutes a newspaper within the meaning of this subdivision. Neither does
				  the term include any publication which is issued to supply information on
				  certain subjects of interest to particular groups, unless such publication
				  otherwise qualifies as a newspaper within the meaning of this subdivision. For
				  purposes of this subdivision, advertising is not considered to be news of a
				  general character and of a general interest.
(8) "Newspaper Carrier." "Newspaper carrier"
				  means any person who acquires newspapers from a publisher or distributor to
				  deliver to consumers. The term includes a hawker. A "hawker" is an individual
				  who sells single copies of newspapers to passersby on a street corner or other
				  trafficked area. "Newspaper carrier" does not include persons selling
				  newspapers or periodicals from a fixed place of business.
(9) "Periodical." The term "periodical" as
				  used herein is limited to those publications which appear at stated intervals,
				  each issue of which contains news or information of general interest to the
				  public, or to some particular organization or group of persons. Each issue must
				  bear a relationship to prior or subsequent issues in respect to continuity of
				  literary character or similarity of subject matter, and there must be some
				  connection between the different issues of the series in the nature of the
				  articles appearing in them. [FN1] Each issue must be sufficiently similar in
				  style and format to make it evident that it is one of a series. An annual
				  report of a corporation which is substantially different in style and format
				  from the corporation's quarterly reports is not part of a series with the
				  quarterly reports. The term "periodical" does not include books complete in
				  themselves, even those that are issued at stated intervals, for example, books
				  sold by the Book-of-the-Month Club or similar organizations, so-called "pocket
				  books," a new one of which may be issued once a month or some other interval,
				  or so-called "one-shot" magazines that have no literary or subject matter
				  connection or continuity between prior or subsequent issues. The term does not
				  include catalogs, programs, score-cards, handbills, price lists, order forms or
				  maps. Neither does it include shopping guides or other publications of which
				  the advertising portion, including product publicity, exceeds 90 percent of the
				  printed area of the entire issue in more than one-half of the issues during any
				  12-month period.
(10) "Print-Only
				  Subscription." A "print-only subscription" means a subscription for delivery of
				  the print edition of a newspaper delivered to a location provided by the
				  customer, without any access to digital content.
(11) "Print-Only Subscription Rate."
				  "Print-only subscription rate" means the average of all the actual rates a
				  newspaper publisher charges its customers for print-only subscriptions,
				  inclusive of any charges for transportation and sales tax reimbursement, except
				  the rates for promotional or introductory subscriptions as defined in
				  subdivision (a)(12).
(12)
				  "Promotional or Introductory Subscriptions." "Promotional or introductory
				  subscriptions" means subscriptions that are sold for a substantially discounted
				  rate, usually to new subscribers, and that are generally limited to a specified
				  period of time after which the prices of the subscriptions increase.
				  Promotional or introductory subscriptions include, but are not limited to,
				  subscriptions sold for substantially discounted rates referred to as sales
				  rates, limited-time rates, or seasonal rates.
Example 1: Newspaper publisher ABC offers a new customer a
					 four-week unlimited digital-only subscription for a $1.00 introductory rate.
					 After the four-week introductory period, the customer is then charged $16.00
					 every four weeks. In this instance, the introductory rate the customer paid is
					 substantially less than the post-introductory rate. Therefore, the introductory
					 subscription rate is not included in the calculation of ABC's digital-only
					 subscription rate.
Example 2: Newspaper publisher XYZ's full print-only
					 subscription rate is $169 for 26 weeks ($6.50 per week). XYZ offers new
					 customers and existing monthly subscribers a promotional rate for its
					 print-only subscription of $3.25 per week for a term of 26 weeks (a savings of
					 50% off the full print-only subscription rate). In this instance, the
					 promotional rate is substantially less than the full print-only subscription
					 rate. Therefore, the promotional subscription rate is not included in the
					 calculation of XYZ's print-only subscription rate.
Example 3: Newspaper publisher ABC's customer Mr. Y has had
					 a print-only subscription for the past three years for which he currently pays
					 the full subscription rate of $5.00 per week. When Mr. Y requests to cancel his
					 subscription, ABC offers to reduce his subscription rate to $4.25 per week (a
					 savings of 15% off the full subscription rate he was paying), for an indefinite
					 period. In this instance, the discounted subscription rate offered to retain
					 Mr. Y is not substantially less than the full subscription rate. Therefore, the
					 discounted subscription rate is included in the calculation of ABC's print-only
					 subscription rate.
(13)
				  "Publisher." "Publisher" means and includes any person who owns the rights to
				  produce, market, and distribute printed literature and information.
(14) "Tangible Personal Property Allocation
				  Percentage." The "tangible personal property allocation percentage" means the
				  percentage of a mixed newspaper subscription rate that is for the sale of
				  tangible personal property, inclusive of any charges for transportation and
				  sales tax reimbursement.
(15)
				  "Third-Party Retailer." "Third-party retailer" means and includes any person
				  who makes retail sales of subscriptions to newspapers and periodicals who is
				  not the publisher of the newspapers or periodicals. Typically, third-party
				  retailers solicit subscriptions in a single offering for a large number of
				  different publications, require that payment be made to the account of the
				  third-party retailer, and undertake to resolve subscription problems.
				  "Third-party retailer" does not include persons who solicit renewals of
				  subscriptions on behalf of individual publishers.