Ohio Revised Code
Chapter 5739 | Sales Tax
Section 5739.034 | Telecommunications Services Definitions.

Effective: March 27, 2020
Latest Legislation: House Bill 197 - 133rd General Assembly
(A) As used in this section:
(1) "Air-to-ground radiotelephone service" means a radio service, as defined in 47 C.F.R. 22.99, in which common carriers are authorized to offer and provide radio telecommunications service for hire to subscribers in aircraft.
(2) "Call-by-call basis" means any method of charging for telecommunications services where the price is measured by individual calls.
(3) "Customer" means the person or entity that contracts with a seller of telecommunications service. If the end user of telecommunications service is not the contracting party, the end user of the telecommunications service is the customer of the telecommunications service. "Customer" does not include a reseller of telecommunications service or of mobile telecommunications service of a serving carrier under an agreement to serve the customer outside the home service provider's licensed service area.
(4) "End user" means the person who utilizes the telecommunications service. In the case of a person other than an individual, "end user" means the individual who utilizes the service on behalf of the person.
(5) "Home service provider" has the same meaning as in the "Mobile Telecommunications Sourcing Act," Pub. L. No. 106-252, 114 Stat. 631 (2000), 4 U.S.C. 124(5), as amended.
(6) "Place of primary use" means the street address representative of where the customer's use of the telecommunications service primarily occurs, which must be the residential street address or the primary business street address of the customer. In the case of mobile telecommunications services, "place of primary use" must be within the licensed service area of the home service provider.
(7) "Post-paid calling service" means the telecommunications service obtained by making a payment on a call-by-call basis either through the use of a credit card or payment mechanism such as a bank card, travel card, credit card, or debit card, or by charge made to a telephone number that is not associated with the origination or termination of the telecommunications service. "Post-paid calling service" includes a telecommunications service, except a prepaid wireless calling service, that would be a prepaid calling service, but for the fact that it is not exclusively a telecommunications service.
(8) "Service address" means:
(a) The location of the telecommunications equipment to which a customer's call is charged and from which the call originates or terminates, regardless of where the call is billed or paid.
(b) If the location in division (A)(8)(a) of this section is not known, "service address" means the origination point of the signal of the telecommunications service first identified by either the seller's telecommunications system or in information received by the seller from its service provider, where the system used to transport such signals is not that of the seller.
(c) If the locations in divisions (A)(8)(a) and (b) of this section are not known, "service address" means the location of the customer's place of primary use.
(9) "Private communication service" means a telecommunications service that entitles a customer to exclusive or priority use of a communications channel or group of channels between or among termination points, regardless of the manner in which the channel or channels are connected, and includes switching capacity, extension lines, stations, and any other associated services that are provided in connection with the use of such channel or channels.
(B) The amount of tax due pursuant to sections 5739.02, 5739.021, 5739.023, and 5739.026 of the Revised Code on sales of telecommunications service, information service, or mobile telecommunications service, is the sum of the taxes imposed pursuant to those sections at the sourcing location of the sale as determined under this section.
(C) Except for the telecommunications services described in division (E) of this section, the sale of telecommunications service sold on a call-by-call basis shall be sourced to each level of taxing jurisdiction where the call originates and terminates in that jurisdiction, or each level of taxing jurisdiction where the call either originates or terminates and in which the service address also is located.
(D) Except for the telecommunications services described in division (E) of this section, a sale of telecommunications services sold on a basis other than a call-by-call basis shall be sourced to the customer's place of primary use.
(E) The sale of the following telecommunications services shall be sourced to each level of taxing jurisdiction, as follows:
(1) A sale of mobile telecommunications service, other than air-to-ground radiotelephone service and prepaid calling service, shall be sourced to the customer's place of primary use as required by the Mobile Telecommunications Sourcing Act.
(2) A sale of post-paid calling service shall be sourced to the origination point of the telecommunications signal as first identified by the service provider's telecommunications system, or information received by the seller from its service provider, where the system used to transport such signals is not that of the seller.
(3) A sale of prepaid calling service or prepaid wireless calling service shall be sourced under division (C) of section 5739.033 of the Revised Code. But in the case of prepaid wireless calling service, in lieu of sourcing the sale of the service under division (C)(5) of section 5739.033 of the Revised Code, the service provider may elect to source the sale to the location associated with the mobile telephone number.
(4) A sale of a private communication service shall be sourced as follows:
(a) Service for a separate charge related to a customer channel termination point shall be sourced to each level of jurisdiction in which the customer channel termination point is located;
(b) Service where all customer channel termination points are located entirely within one jurisdiction or level of jurisdiction shall be sourced in the jurisdiction in which the customer channel termination points are located;
(c) Service for segments of a channel between two customer channel termination points located in different jurisdictions and which segments of a channel are separately charged shall be sourced fifty per cent in each level of jurisdiction in which the customer channel termination points are located;
(d) Service for segments of a channel located in more than one jurisdiction or level of jurisdiction and which segments are not separately billed shall be sourced in each jurisdiction based on the percentage determined by dividing the number of customer channel termination points in the jurisdiction by the total number of customer channel termination points.

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