- Louisiana Board of Tax Appeals ruled in favor of Apple against New Orleans’ sales tax on Apple Music
- Federal law prohibits local sales tax on music streaming service if a similar service is not taxed
- State and local governments may try to impose taxes on online transactions, but need to comply with federal law
- ITFA prohibits discriminatory taxes on electronic commerce
- City’s tax assessment on Apple Music was considered discriminatory under ITFA
- Apple Music and satellite radio were deemed to be essentially the same service
- City was barred from imposing sales tax on satellite radio due to Federal Telecommunications Act
- State and local governments can impose sales tax on internet goods or services, but not in a discriminatory manner
Source: aprio.com
Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.
