Tax Type
Retail Sales and Use Tax
Description
Church purchase of meals and hotel accommodations; Camp meeting
Topic
Taxability of Persons and Transactions
Date Issued
05-31-1989
May 31, 1989
Re: Request For Ruling: Sales and Use Tax
Dear****************
This will reply to your letter dated October 21, 1988, in which you requested a ruling as to whether *************("The Taxpayer") qualifies for exemption from sales and use tax under Virginia Code §58.1-608(38).
FACTS
The Taxpayer is a Christian ministry based in the District of Columbia. The Taxpayer will be conducting a weekend camp meeting at a hotel located within the Commonwealth. The Taxpayer requests an exemption from the tax for tangible personal property purchased in connection with the camp meeting.
RULING
Virginia law does not provide a general exemption from the sales and use tax for nonprofit organizations. However, Virginia Code §58.l -608(38), (copy enclosed), provides a limited exemption from the sales and use tax for "tangible personal...purchased by churches organized not for profit...for use (i) in religious services by a congregation or church membership while meeting together in a single location, and (ii) in the libraries, offices, meeting or counseling rooms or other rooms in the public church buildings used in carrying out the work of the church and its related ministries....
Based on the rule of strict construction adopted by the Virginia courts in the interpretation of sales and use tax exemptions, not all religious organizations qualify for the above exemption, nor are all purchases by a qualifying organization eligible for the exemption.
To qualify for the exemption, a church must have a congregation or membership that meets at a single location for regularly scheduled worship services. Further, the exemption is limited solely to tangible personal property used in regularly scheduled religious worship services by the church congregation or membership or used inside the public church buildings utilized in carrying out the work of the church. Tangible personal property used outside the public church buildings is taxable.
Thus, tangible personal property used in conducting the camp meeting in a hotel would be subject to the tax. In addition, charges for meals or catering and the rental of meeting space or other rooms in the hotel would be subject to the tax. It should be noted in this regard that purchases of meals and lodging by the state government and most nonprofit organizations that enjoy sales and use tax exemptions are also subject to the tax.
If you have any questions, please contact the department.
Sincerely,
W. H. Forst
Tax Commissioner
Rulings of the Tax Commissioner