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Ezel / Tax Rulings / CT
CT Ruling 90-76 Sales and Use Taxes 1990-12-12

Were consulting and public-relations services provided to a political candidate exempt from Connecticut sales and use tax?

Short answer: No under this historical ruling. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 12-407(2)(i)(J) taxed consulting and public-relations services, and the law provided no exemption merely because the customer was a political campaign or candidate for elective office. DRS marks the ruling not current and obsoleted by AN 94(4).

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 1990. Ezel answers yours, under current Connecticut tax law, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 1990
Subsequent statutory amendments, regulation changes, court decisions, or later rulings may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current tax advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, rate, or position mentioned here.
Disclaimer: This is official 1990 Connecticut Department of Revenue Services guidance reflecting the law then in effect. DRS expressly marks it 'not current' and says it was obsoleted by Announcement (AN) 94(4). Current tax treatment of political consulting and public-relations services must be confirmed. Connecticut imposes sales and use tax solely at the state level: there are no local or municipal sales taxes. This summary is informational only and is not legal or tax advice. Consult a licensed Connecticut tax professional about your specific situation.
About this page: The plain-English summary, reader guidance, and Q&A below were written by Ezel based on the official state tax ruling. The original ruling (linked on this page as a PDF) is the authoritative source for any reliance.
View original ruling (PDF)

Note -- obsolete historical guidance. DRS marks this ruling "not current" and states that it was obsoleted by Announcement (AN) 94(4).

Plain-English summary

DRS ruled that consulting and public-relations services provided to a political candidate for elective office were subject to Connecticut sales and use tax under the historical § 12-407(2)(i)(J). The statute provided no exemption for political campaigns.

What this means for you

The customer's political purpose did not create an exemption from a generally taxable service. Because DRS has obsoleted this ruling, confirm the current service category and any current exemptions.

Common questions

Were political-campaign consulting services exempt? No under the 1990 ruling.

Why? The consulting/public-relations category was taxable and no campaign exemption applied.

Citations and references

  • Conn. Gen. Stat. § 12-407(2)(i)(J).
  • Announcement (AN) 94(4) -- identified by DRS as obsoleting this ruling.

Source

Original ruling text

Ruling 90-76, Consulting and Public Relations Services

This information is not current and is being provided for reference purposes only

Ruling 90-76

Consulting and Public Relations Services

This Ruling has been obsoleted by  AN 94(4)

Section 12-407(2)(1)(J) of the General Statutes imposes the sales and use tax on "consulting and public relations services." Since no exemption is provided when such services are rendered to political campaigns, the consulting and public relations services rendered to a political candidate for elective office are subject to sales and use tax.

LEGAL DIVISION

December 12, 1990

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