Bay State channel-surfers who purchase, lease or lease a cable field from their tv supplier may quickly see a change on their payments: state tax collectors confirmed final week that these transactions at the moment are subjected to the state gross sales tax.
Income Commissioner Geoffrey Snyder signed a directive Friday declaring that the sale or rental of any cable field machine that “can do more than connect a cable system to a TV broadcast receiver, and allow for parental controls” is now not exempt from the state’s 6.25% gross sales tax. Which means cable packing containers which have DVR talents or different widespread options like the flexibility to connect with widespread streaming providers at the moment are topic to the tax.
In 2008, months earlier than analog tv was discontinued and as viewers have been pushed to get cable packages or digital converter packing containers to accommodate the brand new digital sign, DOR issued a directive that declared that “sales and rentals of cable television converter boxes to Massachusetts cable television customers are exempt from sales and use taxes” as a result of they have been deemed to suit right into a statutory exemption for issues “consumed or used directly and exclusively … in the operation of commercial … television transmission.”
However know-how has modified, as has the best way individuals watch tv. Cable TV bundles are shedding floor to streaming platforms and packages, and so-called sensible TVs make it easy to surf the web with a clicker. DOR stated the cable converter packing containers, set-top packing containers and cable system terminal units it thought of when it issued the 2008 order have been “only for the purpose of receiving programming or information from the cable provider, or for implementing parental controls.”
The Healey administration proposed eliminating the exemption in February and put a draft model of the directive it issued Friday out for remark from tax practitioners.
The editorial board of the Nashoba Valley Voice slammed the proposal in March, saying the addition of the gross sales tax will simply push extra individuals to chop the cable, “leaving the elderly and those less tech savvy to pay the price of a prying state bureaucracy.” The paper’s editorial board inspired its readers to “flood that comments website and let the DOR know in no uncertain terms that they already pay more than enough for cable TV without tacking on a state tariff.”
The brand new official coverage at DOR is {that a} transaction involving a tool “that does more than receive programming or information from a cable provider for the purpose of commercial television transmission … is not entitled to the exemption, as such Device is not used exclusively in the operation of commercial television transmission.”
“Specifically, a Device with additional features including, but not limited to, the ability to (i) schedule, record, locally store and play back recorded content for later viewing, (ii) access or run software applications such as web-based content streaming services, games, productivity tools, or other non-television applications, or (iii) transmit recorded content to a smartphone or tablet or access recorded content from another digital video recorder, is not exclusively used in the operation of commercial television transmission, and therefore is not exempt,” Snyder’s directive says.
The state Workplace of Shopper Affairs and Business Regulation stated in a 2019 weblog submit that conventional “cable packages can cost anywhere from $50 to over $200 per month, making cable one of the higher monthly utilities in your home.”
“In addition to programming, equipment, and installation charges, cable providers may also assess certain taxes, surcharges, and fees as part of consumers’ monthly bills. These additional charges can add a significant amount to your monthly bill,” the state’s Division of Telecommunications and Cable says on a webpage meant to help residents with securing cable TV service.
