Louisiana BTA finds pay-per-view and video-on-demand services non-taxable

• The Louisiana Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) addressed a taxpayer’s challenge regarding tax assessments on video-on-demand (VOD) and pay-per-view (PPV) services.
• The taxpayer argued that these services were exempt as part of their regular cable service, while tax authorities claimed they were taxable as tangible personal property or telecommunications services.
• The BTA granted the taxpayer’s motion for summary judgment, ruling that the services were not taxable sales of tangible personal property and were excluded from the definition of telecommunications services. The data transferred was considered a service for temporary authorization to view programming.
• This decision highlights the evolving landscape of taxation in the digital age, and companies offering digital products or services in Louisiana should assess the level of customer control over transferred data for tax purposes.

Source

• PwC