Texas Administrative Code › Title 34 - PUBLIC FINANCE › Part 1 - COMPTROLLER OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS › Chapter 3 - TAX ADMINISTRATION › Subchapter O - STATE AND LOCAL SALES AND USE TAXES › Section 3.342 - Information Services

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a) Definitions.
				  The following words and terms, when used in this section, shall have the
				  following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
(1) Data processing services -- Processing,
				  reformatting, or manipulating data provided by the customer is data processing
				  and is not included in the definition of information services.
(2) Information services -- Furnishing
				  general or specialized news or other current information, including financial
				  information, by printed, mimeographed, electronic, or electrical transmission,
				  or by utilizing wires, cable, radio waves, microwaves, satellites, fiber
				  optics, or any other method now in existence or which may be devised, and
				  electronic data retrieval or research. The term information services does not
				  include Internet access service or information services that are provided in
				  conjunction with and merely incidental to the provision of Internet access
				  service when provided for a single charge.
(3) Internet -- collectively the myriad of
				  computer and telecommunications facilities, including equipment and operating
				  software, that comprise the interconnected worldwide network of networks that
				  employ the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, or any predecessor
				  or successor protocols to the protocol, to communicate information of all kinds
				  by wire or radio.
(4) Internet
				  access service -- a service that enables users to access content, information,
				  electronic mail, or other services offered over the Internet and may also
				  include access to proprietary content, information, and other services as part
				  of a package of services offered to consumers. Internet access service does not
				  include any other taxable service, unless the taxable service is provided in
				  conjunction with and is merely incidental to the provision of Internet access
				  service. Individuals providing Internet access should refer to §
											3.366 of
				  this title (relating to Internet Access Services).
(5) Nontaxable information services.
(A) The sale of information that is gathered
				  or compiled on behalf of a particular client is not subject to tax if the
				  information is of a proprietary nature to that client and may not be sold to
				  others by the person who gathered or compiled the information. Any subsequent
				  sale of such information by the client for whom the information was gathered or
				  compiled is subject to tax. Examples include opinion polls and management
				  consultant reports.
(B) Any sale of
				  information primarily derived from laboratory, medical, or exploratory testing
				  or experimentation or any similar method of direct scientific observation of
				  physical phenomena is not subject to tax. Examples include, but are not limited
				  to, geophysical survey information, polygraph test, and medical test
				  results.
(C) Information required
				  to be furnished pursuant to the Open Records Act is not subject to sales tax.
				  See §3.341 of this title (relating to Sales of Governmental Publications,
				  Records, or Documents). Fees paid when obtaining these documents may be
				  excluded from the tax base if separately stated when the documents are
				  furnished to clients. Tax will only be due on the amount over and above the
				  cost of the documents.
(6) Taxable information services. Information
				  that is gathered, maintained, or compiled and made available by the provider of
				  the information service to the public or to a specific segment of industry for
				  a consideration is subject to sales tax. Examples of taxable information
				  services include, but are not limited to, the following:
(A) newsletters;
(B) scouting reports and surveys, including
				  those used in sports and the oil and gas and related industries;
(C) mailing lists, and bad check lists (only
				  that percentage which represents names of persons located in Texas is
				  taxable);
(D) real estate
				  listings;
(E) financial,
				  investment, stock market, or bond rating, or financial reports, other than
				  charges to a person by a financial institution for account balance
				  information;
(F) news clipping
				  services and wire services; and
(G)
				  abstracts of title and other information provided by title plants.