Opinion ID: 1293123
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Spot Sales as Exempt Business

Text: Further in support of the first ground of its opinion, the Commission reasoned that emergency spot sales are unrelated to the exercise of franchise rights and that revenues from those sales are distinguishable from gross receipts expected to be taxed under §§ 58-603 and 58-661. Defending this reasoning on brief, the Commission contends that the question is whether it may lawfully interpret the phrase, `business done in this State', which appears in both Code §§ 58-603 and 58-661, so as to exclude emergency spot sales. The Commission argues that [t]he term `business' . . . means `public service business' for which the company is certificated. We reject that argument. Indeed, in our view § 58-607 reinforces our conclusion that the taxable revenues contemplated by the tax statutes are gross receipts from all sources, for it provides that [t]he gross receipts . . . subject to taxation shall include those received from incidental operations as well as those derived from the sale of water or heat, light and power. Even if revenues from sales made by one Virginia gas distributor to another are not derived directly from business for which the seller is certificated, they are clearly receipts from operations incidental to business conducted in this State.