Pennsylvania Code › Title 61 - REVENUE › Part I - Department of Revenue › Subpart B - General Fund Revenues › Article II - Sales and Use Tax › Chapter 31 - IMPOSITION › SPECIALIZED TYPES OF BUSINESS OR PROPERTY › Section 31.29 - Books, publications and advertising materials

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
(a)
Definitions
. The
						following words and terms, when used in this section, have the following
						meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
Advertising insert
-Printed advertising
						  material that is circulated with another publication.
Advertising literature or
						  materials
-Tangible personal property that is intended to promote
						  business interest, create goodwill or engage the attention or interest of a
						  recipient.
(i) The term includes
						printed matter, brochures, matchbooks, calendars, price lists, video and audio
						tapes, computer disks, investment prospectuses, financial and corporate annual
						reports, electoral literature or materials, playing cards, envelopes, address
						labels, reply envelopes, application forms, pens and similar promotional
						materials.
(ii) The term does not
						include proxy materials.
Circulated among the general
						  public
-Made available for purchase from a retail outlet, such as a
						  newsstand or bookstore, or made available for purchase by subscription. In the
						  case of an organizational publication, the publication will be considered to be
						  circulated among the general public only if there are regular sales of the
						  publication to purchasers other than members of the organization.
Direct mail advertising literature or
						  materials
-Advertising literature or materials that are distributed
						  directly to intended recipients through the United States Postal Service. The
						  term does not include advertising literature or materials that are distributed
						  in a manner other than by the United States Postal Service.
Magazine
-A publication that is
						  published at regular intervals not exceeding 3 months, that is circulated among
						  the general public, and contains matters of general interest and reports of
						  current events that are published for the purpose of disseminating information
						  of a public character or is devoted to literature, the sciences, art or some
						  special industry. The term does not include loose leaf information
						  services.
Mail order catalogue
-A publication
						  that contains a listing of items with descriptive details and includes a mail
						  order form and is distributed through the United States Postal Service.
Newspaper
-A "legal newspaper" or a
						  publication containing matters of general interest and reports of current
						  events that qualifies as a "newspaper of general circulation" authorized to
						  carry a "legal advertisement" as those terms are defined in
						  45 Pa.C.S. §
															101
						  (relating to legal notices). The term does not include magazines.
Publication
-Information transferred by
						  means of tangible media.
(i)
						Examples include printed material, such as books; financial and corporate
						annual reports; investment prospectuses; proxy materials; shopping guides;
						magazines; tabloid newspapers; and printed material that may supplement,
						explain, amend, revise or otherwise alter, expand or render current a looseleaf
						information service, or a book or bound volumes of books previously issued,
						including a supplement or pocket part, whether the additional material is
						periodically distributed or purchased independently of the basic book to which
						it is applicable.
(ii) The term
						also includes video and audio tapes, computer disks and similar items.
Religious publication
-Religious
						  commentaries and other publications primarily devoted to religious instruction,
						  promotion or information.
Shopping guide
-A publication primarily
						  devoted to consumer awareness, promotion or information and that is generally
						  provided to a consumer free of charge.
Subscription
-The advance purchase of a
						  series of issues of a magazine delivered by the publisher to an address
						  designated by the purchaser.
(i) The term includes a series of magazines
						provided by an organization to its members in consideration of the payment of
						membership dues, provided the magazine is also sold by subscription or by
						individual copy to the public.
(ii)
						The term does not include a purchase of an issue or series of issues of a
						magazine from a person other than the publisher.
Textbook
-A new or used book that is
						  required or approved for use in conjunction with an educational curriculum
						  provided by an institution of learning recognized by the Department of
						  Education.