TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ADVISORY 89-006Re: Taxability of Sales to Government Employees on Official Business Recently, advice was requested on whether purchases of tangible personal property or taxable services by an employee of another state while on official business are subject to this State's consumers sales and service tax. The context in which this question arose concerned charges for hotel or motel lodging. The response, which follows, applies equally to sales of other taxable services and to sales of tangible personal property. If an employee of any state or of the United States stays in a West Virginia hotel or motel while on official business and pays for his or her room with a personal credit card, the six percent West Virginia consumers sales and service tax will be added to such charges regardless of the fact that the employee will be reimbursed by his employer for the costs of his or her lodging. The lodging will also be subject to the local hotel occupancy tax if such a tax has been enacted by the municipality or county in which the hotel or motel is located. There is no generally imposed local sales tax. Where charges for lodging are billed directly to the United States government, the charges are not subject to either the consumers sales and service tax or the local hotel occupancy tax. This same rule applies when the charges are directly billed to the State of West Virginia. There has been some confusion over whether charges for lodging directly billed to another state or a political subdivision thereof are taxable or exempt. The position of the State Tax Department has been that these charges are taxable. Recently, legislation was enacted amending our consumers sales and service tax and use tax laws. That legislation clarifies this question. Sales of tangible personal property or taxable services to another state or a political subdivision thereof are not exempt under W. Va. Code §
11-15-9(c), which exempts from consumers sales and service tax sales to the State of West Virginia or its institutions or subdivisions and sales to the United States. Sales to other states or political subdivisions thereof are taxable unless some other exemption applies. In the case of lodging and other travel expenses, no exemption from tax applies. Charles O. Lorensen State Tax Commissioner Issued: April 19, 1989