Okla. Admin. Code § 710:65-13-100

Current through Vol. 42, No. 3, October 15, 2024

Section 710:65-13-100 - Fairs, circuses, carnivals, and other public exhibitions; sales tax exemption for county, district and state fair authorities; purchases by contractors

(a) Persons conducting games of chance or skill at fairs, carnivals, circuses, expositions, celebrations, bazaars, picnics and similar places and delivering merchandise as prizes are deemed consumers of such articles. All sales to them of tangible personal property, including merchandise, devices, apparatus, furnishings and other equipment are taxable. Credit cards and extension of credit in any form, given as prizes, will be deemed merchandise and taxable, unless the tax is paid at the time the credit is exchanged for merchandise. Concessionaires at fairs, circuses, carnivals, etc., must collect, report and remit the sales tax on all their sales. The Commission reserves the right to require a concessionaire to file a report and pay the tax at the close of any business day or period during which he operates.

(b) However, specifically exempted from sales tax are sales made upon the premises of a county, district or state fair authority when said sales are made directly by the county, district or state fair authority and the sales are made solely for the benefit of the fair authority.

(1) For purposes of this exemption, "fair authority" means:

(A) Any county, municipality, school district, public trust or any other political subdivision of this state, or

(B) Any not-for-profit corporation acting pursuant to an agency, operating management agreement which has been approved or authorized by the governing body of any of the entities specified in (1)(A) of this subsection which conduct, operate or produce a fair commonly understood to be a county, district or state fair.

(2)"Sales made directly by the county, district or state fair authorities" for purposes of this exemption requires that all persons making sales be employees of the authority or contract labor employed by the fair authority.

(3)"For the sole benefit of the fair authority" for purposes of this exemption requires that all proceeds of sales made go to the fair authority. Sales made under a proceeds splitting arrangement or pursuant to a contract requiring payment to persons or groups based on a percentage of sales do not qualify for this exemption. [68 O.S. § 1356(4) ]

(c) Provided further, sales of admissions to fairs or fair events made at any location other than the premises of the fair in this state that is authorized by the fair authority are subject to sales tax only with respect to any portion of an admission price that is not retained by or distributed to the fair authority. "Fair event"shall be limited to an event held on the premises of the fair authority in conjunction with and during the time period of a county, district, or state fair. [See: 68 O.S. § 1356(4) ]

(d) Persons operating or sponsoring a fair, circus, carnival, etc., shall be held liable, as the principal, for the tax upon the sale or use of tangible personal property sold, given as prizes or otherwise disposed of by a person engaged in business without a sales tax license at such exhibition, unless the tax is paid by the dispenser of such property.

(e) Purchases of taxable personal property or services by a contractor, as defined by 68 O.S. § 1352, are taxable to the contractor. A contractor who performs improvements to real property for a county, district or state fair authority may not purchase the tangible personal property or services to perform the contract exempt from sales tax.

Okla. Admin. Code § 710:65-13-100

Amended at 10 Ok Reg 3847, eff 7-12-93; Amended at 11 Ok Reg 3521, eff 6-26-94; Amended at 12 Ok Reg 2635, eff 6-26-95; Amended at 20 Ok Reg 2175, eff 6-26-03; Amended at 25 Ok Reg 2070, eff 7-1-08