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Ezel / Tax Rulings / TX
TX 8509L0663D03 Sales and/or Use Tax (State,Local,MTA) 1985-09-13

Was a service that amplified and retransmitted two-way-radio signals taxable in Texas?

Short answer: Yes, effective October 1, 1985, because the statutory telecommunications definition encompassed radio signal booster service.

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This page answers the general question as of 1985. Ezel answers yours, under current Texas tax law, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 1985
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 an official 1985 Texas Comptroller taxpayer-response letter applying H.B. 1949 and the then-new Tax Code §§ 151.0103 and 151.0104 to a service that amplified and retransmitted two-way-radio signals. The stated tax result began October 1, 1985, and the letter expressly says different facts could change the opinion. Current radio, signal-booster, telecommunications, effective-date, and sales-tax rules may differ, and STAR documents may no longer represent current policy even when not marked superseded. Letters on STAR can support detrimental reliance only for the taxpayer to whom the letter was directly issued under 34 Tex. Admin. Code Rules 3.1 and 3.10. Taxpayer-identifying details are redacted. This summary is informational only and is not legal or tax advice.
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) is the authoritative source for any reliance.

Plain-English summary

The client's service received a weak two-way-radio signal, amplified it, and retransmitted it over a greater distance.

The Comptroller said the service became taxable telecommunications service on October 1, 1985. The definition added by H.B. 1949 included electronic or electrical transmission, conveyance, routing, or reception of signals by radio waves and other listed methods, and the letter concluded that it encompassed radio signal boosting.

Common questions

Was radio signal booster service taxable? Yes.

When did the stated result take effect? October 1, 1985.

What provisions did the letter identify? Tax Code §§ 151.0103 and 151.0104, added by H.B. 1949.

Citations and references

  • Tex. Tax Code § 151.0103 — telecommunications-service definition quoted and applied in the letter.
  • Tex. Tax Code § 151.0104 — additional section identified as added by H.B. 1949.
  • H.B. 1949 — legislation identified as adding the two sections.

Source

Original ruling text

September 13, 1985

Dear ***:

Thank you for your letter of September 6, 1985, concerning the taxability
of radio signal booster service.

Your client receives a weak signal from a transmitting two-way radio, amplifies
it so it can travel a greater distance, and re-transmits it to a receiving two-way radio.

Radio signal booster service will be taxable as a telecommunication service effective
October 1, 1985.

H.B. 1949 amends the sales tax law by adding Sections 151.0103 and 151.0104.
Telecommunications service as defined under Section 151.0103 is "the electronic
or electrical transmission, conveyance, routing, or reception of sounds, signals,
data, or information using wires, cable, radio waves, microwaves, satellites,
fiber optics, or any other method now in existence or that may be devised including
but not limited to long-distance telephone service."

The definition of telecommunications service encompasses radio signal booster service.

This opinion is based on the facts presented. If there are additional or different
facts, the opinion may change.

If you have any questions or need more information, please call us at
1-800-252-5555 toll free from anywhere in Texas. You may write us at the Tax
Administration Division.

Sincerely,

Tax Policy Section
Tax Administration Division

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