More Non-Taxable Advertising Material  
The Department has issued another ruling concluding that certain printed advertising material is exempt from Chapter 212 taxes under Florida Statutes § 212.08(7)(w). TAA 05A-047. That statute exempts “free, circulated publications that are published on a regular basis, the content of which is primarily advertising, and that are distributed through the mail, by home delivery, or newsstands.” In this ruling, the Department accords exempt treatment to a “newspaper.” The Department interprets the “publication” requirement to concern itself with the format of the material and while it has been inconsistent on the subject, generally limits the exemption to materials in a booklet, magazine or newspaper format. The Department amended the implementing rule, Rule 12A-1.008 to say that it is “periodicals” that are exempt–this despite the fact that the word “periodicals” does not appear in the statute–and continues to rely on format considerations–type of paper, ink, binding, and the like to differentiate taxable and exempt advertising material. Thus two publications with identical content may be given differing treatment, one taxable the other exempt, based purely on the format in which the advertising is circulated. There is no indication that the Legislature intended that discriminatory treatment and there have been efforts recently to enact legislation ensuring that advertising in an envelope format is given the same treatment as that accorded booklets, brochures, flyers, and other advertising printed on glossy (magazine-format) or newsprint (newspaper-format) publications. In this ruling, the Department makes the finding that the publication consists “primarily” of advertising with the observation that the “advertising space is over 60% of the total printed inches.”

Posted: 2005-12-06 00:00:00.0

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