🧪 TEST MODE ACTIVE Use test card: 4242 4242 4242 4242
Ezel / Tax Rulings / TX
TX 8511L0679E08 Sales and/or Use Tax (State,Local,MTA) 1985-11-25

Was a two-way specialized mobile radio service with dispatch and telephone interconnection taxable in Texas?

Short answer: Yes. The Comptroller said the entire specialized mobile radio service described in the request was taxable.

Apply this to your situation

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 based on a specialized mobile radio service using a base station to dispatch signals to two-way mobile radios and connect mobile units to regular telephone lines. It expressly says different facts could change the opinion. Current telecommunications, radio, interconnection, dispatch, sourcing, and sales-tax rules may differ, and STAR documents may no longer represent current policy even when not marked superseded.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 service used a base station to dispatch signals to mobile units equipped with two-way radios. It could also connect a mobile unit through the base station to a regular telephone line and otherwise differed from cellular mobile telephone service.

The Comptroller confirmed that the entire specialized mobile radio service described in the request was taxable.

Common questions

Was the dispatch function taxable? Yes, as part of the described service.

Was the telephone-interconnect capability taxable? Yes, as part of the same service.

Did the letter treat the system as cellular service? No. The request said it was unlike cellular mobile telephone service in other respects.

Citations and references

The reproduced letter cites no numbered statute or rule.

Source

Original ruling text

November 25, 1985

Dear **:

Thank you for your letter of November 20, 1985, requesting written
confirmation of information provided by ***.

The information provided by *** is correct. Specialized
mobile radio services as described in your letter are taxable.

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

November 20, 1985

Re: New Sales Tax on Telecommunication Services

Dear ***:

Pursuant to my recent telephone conversation with ***, of your
office, I am writing you to request your official interpretation of the
recent revision in the Tax Code pertaining to telecommunication services.

Our client provides a two-way radio service to its clients. This service
is called COMPANY A. In such a system a base station dispatches various
signals to mobile units that have two-way radios. Also, this system
has the capability of connecting a mobile unit through the base station
to a regular telephone line. This system in other respects is very much
unlike cellular mobile telephone service. *** indicated to
me that this entire service would be taxable.

Please provide us with a written opinion concerning the taxability of
COMPANY A as described above.

Thank you very much.

Very truly yours,

Get today's answer for your situation

You just read a 1985 ruling on this question. Ezel checks current Texas tax law and answers your specific situation, with citations.

Opens in Ezel Pro. Every answer cites the authority it relies on.