Are subscription sales of scientific/technical trade magazines exempt from Connecticut sales tax under the magazine-by-subscription exemption?

Note: DRS has marked this ruling obsoleted in part by SN 2003(5). It's preserved here for its reasoning and historical value; confirm current law before applying it.

Plain-English summary

A publisher produced a range of scientific and technological periodicals — on criminology, astronomy and physics, chemistry, electronics, telecommunications, food technology, medicine, and more — issued from four to twelve times a year. It asked whether selling them by subscription is exempt from Connecticut sales tax under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 12-412(6), which exempts "sales of magazines by subscription."

The catch: Connecticut has no statutory or regulatory definition of "magazine." DRS explained that the hardest part of writing one is avoiding content-based criteria — for example, exempting magazines that "entertain the general public" but taxing trade journals would force the state to judge subject matter, which is subjective and constitutionally dangerous. The U.S. Supreme Court struck down exactly that kind of scheme in Arkansas Writers' Project, Inc. v. Ragland (1987): taxing magazines based on their content is "entirely incompatible with the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of the press."

So DRS adopted a content-neutral test. Following the Connecticut Supreme Court's approach of giving undefined terms their plain, commonly-approved meaning (Gallacher v. Commissioner), and borrowing New York's regulatory definition of "periodical" (N.Y. Admin. Code tit. 20, § 528.6(c)), DRS held a publication is an exempt magazine if it:

1. is printed at stated intervals, at least four times a year;
2. is not a book (alone or when successive issues are combined);
3. is available for circulation to the public;
4. has continuity of title and general content from issue to issue; and
5. contains a variety of articles by different authors devoted to literature, the sciences, the arts, news, or some special industry, profession, sport, or field.

The publisher's journals met all five. Their being technical trade publications didn't matter — the test looks at form and format, not subject matter. So the subscription sales are exempt.

What this means for you

Publishers of trade, scientific, and specialty magazines

Your publication doesn't have to be a "general interest" or entertainment magazine to qualify. If it's a periodical meeting the five form/format criteria, subscription sales can be exempt under § 12-412(6) even though its content is narrow and technical.

The test is about form, not content

DRS deliberately built a content-neutral test to stay on the right side of the First Amendment. Frequency (≥4x/year), not-a-book, public availability, continuity, and varied authorship are what matter — not whether the magazine entertains or informs a niche audience.

The exemption is for subscription sales

Section 12-412(6) exempts magazines sold by subscription. Single-copy newsstand sales are a different question and aren't what this ruling addresses.

Confirm the current rule

DRS has obsoleted this ruling in part (SN 2003(5)). The content-neutrality principle is durable, but the specific criteria and their application may have changed. Check current guidance before relying on the five-part test as stated here.

Common questions

Q: Are trade or scientific magazines exempt from Connecticut sales tax?
A: They can be. Under this ruling, a periodical qualifies for the § 12-412(6) subscription exemption based on its form (frequency, not-a-book, public availability, continuity, varied authorship) — not its subject matter. Technical trade journals met the test.

Q: Why did DRS use a content-neutral test?
A: Because taxing magazines based on content violates the First Amendment (Arkansas Writers' Project v. Ragland). A form/format test avoids the state having to judge what a magazine is "about."

Q: What are the criteria for a "magazine"?
A: Printed at least four times a year; not a book; available to the public; continuity of title/content across issues; and a variety of articles by different authors on literature, sciences, arts, news, or a field/industry/profession/sport.

Q: Can I still rely on this ruling?
A: Only cautiously. DRS marked it obsoleted in part by SN 2003(5). Use it for the reasoning, but confirm the current definition and exemption rules.

Citations and references

Statutes:

• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 12-412(6) (exemption for sales of magazines by subscription)

Cases and authorities cited:

• Arkansas Writers' Project, Inc. v. Ragland, 481 U.S. 221 (1987) (content-based magazine taxation violates the First Amendment)
• Gallacher v. Commissioner of Revenue Services, 221 Conn. 166, 602 A.2d 996 (1992) (undefined terms given plain, commonly-approved meaning)
• N.Y. Admin. Code tit. 20, § 528.6(c) (content-neutral definition of "periodical," adopted here as guidance)

Related guidance (described in prose, not linked):

• SN 2003(5) (obsoletes this ruling in part)

Source

• Landing page: Connecticut DRS Rulings
• Ruling: Ruling 94-19

Original ruling text

Ruling 94-19, Sales and Use Taxes / Sales of Magazines by Subscription

T his Ruling has been obsoleted in part by SN 2003(5)

FACTS:

A publishing company ("the Company") produces a number of scientific and technological publications for sale to the public. The publications are issued in printed form at stated intervals, depending on the publication, from four times to twelve times per year, and are available for circulation to the public; they do not, either singly or when successive issues are put together, constitute a book; they have continuity as to title and general nature of content from issue to issue, and each publication contains a variety of different articles by different authors devoted to a particular scientific or technological field of endeavor. The general subjects with which the publications deal include criminology, astronomy and physics, construction materials and their processing, chemistry, electronics, electrical engineering and telecommunication, packaging and food technology and medical practice.

ISSUE:

Whether the sales of the Company's publications by subscription are exempt from sales and use taxes under Conn. Gen. Stat. §12-412(6) as the sales of magazines by subscription.

DISCUSSION:

Conn. Gen. Stat. §12-412(6) exempts the "[sales of magazines by subscription." The Department has no statutory or regulatory definition of "magazine." One of the inherent problems in developing and applying such a definition is to avoid criteria that are based on the content of the publication. For example, excluding trade publications from the definition, while including only magazines which purport to "entertain the general public," requires the Department to examine not merely the format, continuity and appearance of a publication, but its subject matter. This examination is almost certain to result not in an objective application of the criteria, but in one which reflects the prejudices of the person making it. What entertains one person may offend another. What is fascinating to one person may seem arcane and technical to another. Which individual is the true representative of the "general public"?

The U.S. Supreme Court, in Arkansas Writers' Project, Inc. v. Ragland , 481 U.S. 221, 95 L. Ed. 2d 209 (1987), found that the Arkansas taxing scheme was unconstitutional because it differentiated among magazines based on their content. The Arkansas tax allowed an exemption from sales and use taxes for "religious, professional, trade and sports journals ..." and taxed so-called "general interest" magazines. 95 L. Ed. 2d at 209. In order to determine whether a magazine was exempt, Arkansas was forced to examine its content. The Court concluded that "[such official scrutiny of the content of publications as the basis for imposing a tax is entirely incompatible with the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of the press." Id., 220.

The question of what the definition of "magazine" should be for purposes of Conn. Gen. Stat. §12-412(6) remains. In Gallacher v. Commissioner of Revenue Services , 221 Conn. 166, 602 A.2d 996 (1992), the Connecticut Supreme Court, in examining the definition of "newspaper" in the absence of a statutory or regulatory definition, noted that in the past the court had "determined that the word should be given its plain, ordinary meaning and should be construed according to its commonly approved usage." Id., 172.

The American Heritage Dictionary (2d College Edition) defines a "magazine" as a "periodical containing a collection of articles, stories, pictures, or other features." However, this definition leaves open the question of what is a "periodical." Other jurisdictions have attempted to define "periodical" in a content-neutral way. Notably, the sales and use tax regulations of New York State contain this definition, at N.Y. Admin. Code tit. 20, § 528.6(c):

In order to constitute a periodical, a publication must conform generally to the following requirements:

(i) it must be published in printed or written form at stated intervals, at least as frequently as four times a year;

(ii) it must not, either singly or, when successive issues are put together, constitute a book;

(iii) it must be available for circulation to the public;

(iv) it must have continuity as to title and general nature of content from issue to issue;

(v) each issue must contain a variety of articles by different authors devoted to literature, the sciences or the arts, news, some special industry, profession, sport or other field of endeavor.

The New York regulatory definition appears to be compatible with the dictionary definition of "magazine," cited above, but it also establishes several definite, easily ascertainable criteria for determining whether a publication is a "periodical," which, while inviting examination of the form and format of a publication, do not require the taxing authority to compare the content of one such publication with that of another. The list of subjects in subparagraph (v) of the regulation is so broad as to encompass virtually all types of periodical publications. As such, the New York definition appears to provide a constitutionally workable set of criteria for the definition of "magazine" for purposes of Conn. Gen. Stat. §12-412(6).

RULING:

The sales of the Company's publications by subscription are exempt from sales and use taxes under Conn. Gen. Stat. §12-412(6) as the sales of magazines by subscription, because the Company's publications (1) are published in printed or written form at stated intervals, at least as frequently as four times a year; (2) do not, either singly or when successive issues are put together, constitute a book; (3) are available for circulation to the public; (4) have continuity as to title and general nature of content from issue to issue; and (5) contain, in each issue, a variety of articles by different authors devoted to literature, the sciences or the arts, news, some special industry, profession, sport or other field of endeavor.

LEGAL DIVISION

October 12, 1994