NE 01-79-4 Sales and Use Tax 1979-06-19

Does the National Enquirer qualify as a tax-exempt 'newspaper' so its sales are exempt from Nebraska sales and use tax?

Short answer: Yes. The National Enquirer qualifies as an exempt newspaper for Nebraska sales and use tax. Under the Nebraska Revenue Act of 1967, as amended, a publication is an exempt newspaper if it is published at least once a week and contains items of general interest and reports of current events. Because the National Enquirer is published weekly and contains items of general interest and reports of current events, the Department ruled it meets those criteria and is an exempt newspaper.

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This page answers the general question as of 1979. Ezel answers yours, under current Nebraska tax law, with citations.

Disclaimer: This is an official Revenue Ruling of the Nebraska Department of Revenue, a guidance document stating the Department's interpretation of how Nebraska tax law applies. Each Nebraska guidance document carries the notice that it 'is advisory in nature but is binding on the Nebraska Department of Revenue until amended.' Unlike a private letter ruling, a Revenue Ruling is a general statement of Department policy rather than advice to a single taxpayer, but it can be amended, superseded, or made obsolete by a later ruling or a change in statute or regulation, many rulings in this series have been rescinded or superseded, so confirm it is still in effect before relying on it. Nebraska's local option sales and use taxes are administered by the Department, not self-collected by home-rule cities. This summary is informational only and is not legal or tax advice. Consult a licensed Nebraska tax professional about your 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)

Plain-English summary

Nebraska exempts newspapers from sales and use tax, but only publications that fit the state's definition of a newspaper qualify. This ruling answers a narrow question: does the National Enquirer -- a weekly tabloid -- count as a newspaper for that exemption?

The Department said yes. Under the Nebraska Revenue Act of 1967, as amended, a publication is an exempt newspaper if it meets two tests:

it is published at least once a week, and
it contains items of general interest and reports of current events.

The Department found that the National Enquirer is published weekly and contains items of general interest and reports of current events, so it "meets the criteria set forth for qualification as an exempt newspaper." Its sales therefore are not subject to Nebraska sales and use tax.

The takeaway is the reasoning, not the title of the specific publication: Nebraska's newspaper exemption turns on frequency of publication and content, not on a publication's reputation, format, or subject matter. A weekly tabloid that reports current events and general-interest items qualifies on the same terms as a traditional daily paper.

What this means for you

Publishers and distributors of periodicals

Whether your publication is exempt depends on the two-part test, not on whether it looks like a conventional newspaper. If you publish at least weekly and carry items of general interest and reports of current events, the Department has treated that as an exempt newspaper. Publications that appear less often than weekly, or that do not report current events (for example, some special-interest or purely promotional periodicals), may not qualify.

Retailers selling periodicals

If you sell newspapers that meet the definition, those sales are exempt. Magazines and other periodicals that do not satisfy the weekly-publication-plus-current-events test are a different question and may be taxable, so do not assume every periodical on the rack is treated the same way.

Accountants and tax professionals

The ruling is a useful data point on how broadly the Department reads "newspaper" -- a national weekly tabloid qualified. Because the ruling dates to 1979 and cites the Nebraska Revenue Act of 1967 as amended rather than a current section number, confirm the present statutory definition and any regulations before relying on it.

Common questions

Q: Is the National Enquirer exempt from Nebraska sales tax?
A: Under this ruling, yes -- the Department found it is published weekly and reports current events and general-interest items, so it meets the state's definition of an exempt newspaper.

Q: What makes a publication a 'newspaper' for the exemption?
A: It must be published at least once a week and contain items of general interest and reports of current events. Both parts of the test must be met.

Q: Does this mean all magazines and tabloids are exempt?
A: No. Only publications that satisfy the weekly-publication-and-current-events test qualify. A publication that appears less than weekly, or that does not report current events, may be taxable.

Q: Can I rely on this 1979 ruling today?
A: It states the Department's position and is "binding on the Nebraska Department of Revenue until amended," but it is decades old and cites the Act generally rather than a current section. Verify the current statutory definition and consult a Nebraska tax professional.

Citations and references

Nebraska Revenue Ruling 01-79-4, "Sales and Use Tax -- Newspapers" (Nebraska Department of Revenue, issued June 1979; approved by the State Tax Commissioner -- the signature line in the scan reads "Fred ... rrington").
Nebraska Revenue Act of 1967, as amended -- sales and use tax exemption for newspapers; a newspaper must be "published at least once a week" and "contain items of general interest and reports of current events" (as quoted in the ruling).

Source

Source-quality note: This ruling survives only as a low-quality scan, and the machine-extracted text below is partly garbled (including the publication name, which appears blanked in the "@¡s published weekly" line, and the signature block). The holding, the two-part newspaper test, and the publication at issue (National Enquirer) are legible and are the basis for this summary.

Original ruling text

REVENUE RULING 1.79.4

se Tax - News

THE PUBLICATION ENTITLED
rS .
IS A NEW SPAPER EXEMPT FROM SALES AND USE

Advice has been requested whether a publication entitled National
Enquirer meets the definition of a newspaper in order to qualify for
exemption from sales and use tax.

ln order for a newsPaPer to be exempt from sales and use tax, the
Nebraska Revenue Act of 1967, as amended, states that a newspaper must
be published at least once a week and must contain' items of general
interestandreportsofcurrentevents.@¡spublished
weekly and contains items of general interest and rePorts of current
events. National Enquirer meets the criteria set forth for qualification
as an exempt newspaPer.
APPROVED:

Fred

rington

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