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Ezel / Tax Rulings / TX
TX 8703L0801C12 Sales and/or Use Tax (State,Local,MTA) 1987-03-12

Was advertising space sold in a Texas drug-abuse manual taxable, and how were the publisher's printing and material costs treated?

Short answer: The advertising-space sale was not taxable, but the publisher had to pay tax on its supplies, materials, and printing costs.

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 1987. Ezel answers yours, under current Texas tax law, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 1987
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 1987 Texas Comptroller letter addresses advertising space in one drug-abuse manual. The broader STAR caption mentions newspapers, magazines, publications, and classified ads that the operative body does not separately decide. Advertising, publishing, printing, digital-product, and local-tax rules may have changed. STAR documents may no longer represent current policy even when not marked superseded. Identities 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 Texas Comptroller said the sale of advertising space in a drug-abuse manual was not subject to sales tax.

The publisher still had to pay tax on the supplies, materials, and printing costs used to produce the manual. The operative letter did not separately address the other publication and advertising categories listed in STAR's broader subject caption.

What this means for you

The revenue from selling the described advertising space and the publisher's production purchases had different tax treatment. Nontaxable ad-space sales did not make the publisher's inputs tax-free.

Common questions

Was the manual's advertising space taxable? No.

Were the publisher's supplies and materials taxable? Yes.

Were its printing costs taxable? Yes.

Did the body decide every newspaper, magazine, or classified-ad issue in the STAR caption? No.

Citations and references

  • The letter cited no numbered statute or Comptroller rule.

Source

Original ruling text

COMPTROLLER OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS
STATE OF TEXAS
AUSTIN, TX 78774

BOB BULLOCK
Comptroller March 12, 1987

Dear *:

Thank you for your letter concerning tax on advertising space in a drug
abuse manual.

The sale of advertising space in the manual is not subject to tax.

You should pay tax on your supplies, materials and printing costs.

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 me at
1-800-252-5555 toll free from anywhere in Texas. The regular number is
512/463-4600. You may write me at the Tax Administration Division.

Sincerely,
Adina Whittemore
Tax Policy Section
Tax Administration Division

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