Nebraska Statutes 77-2704.15. Purchases by state, schools, or governmental units; exemption; purchasing agents
(1)(a) Sales and use taxes shall not be imposed on the gross receipts from the sale, lease, or rental of and the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of purchases by the state, including public educational institutions recognized or established under the provisions of Chapter 85, or by any county, township, city, village, rural or suburban fire protection district, city airport authority, county airport authority, joint airport authority, drainage district organized under sections 31-401 to 31-450, sanitary drainage district organized under sections 31-501 to 31-553, land bank created under the Nebraska Municipal Land Bank Act, natural resources district, county agricultural society, elected county fair board, housing agency as defined in section 71-1575 except for purchases for any commercial operation that does not exclusively benefit the residents of an affordable housing project, cemetery created under section 12-101, or joint entity or agency formed by any combination of two or more counties, townships, cities, villages, or other exempt governmental units pursuant to the Interlocal Cooperation Act, the Integrated Solid Waste Management Act, or the Joint Public Agency Act, except for purchases for use in the business of furnishing gas, water, electricity, or heat, or by any irrigation or reclamation district, the irrigation division of any public power and irrigation district, or public schools or learning communities established under Chapter 79.
Terms Used In Nebraska Statutes 77-2704.15
- Agent: means a person appointed by a seller to represent the seller before the member states. See Nebraska Statutes 77-2701.05
- Annexed to real estate: means attaching property to real estate so that (1) the property becomes real estate or (2) the installation or removal of the property requires specialized skills or tools and is performed or supervised by a recognized trade professional as determined by the Department of Revenue by rule and regulation. See Nebraska Statutes 77-2701.06
- Building materials: means any property that will be annexed to real estate or to an improvement on real estate. See Nebraska Statutes 77-2701.44
- Business: means any activity engaged in by any person or caused to be engaged in by him or her with the object of gain, benefit, or advantage, either direct or indirect. See Nebraska Statutes 77-2701.07
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Contractor or repairperson: means any person who performs any repair services upon property annexed to, or who annexes building materials to, real estate, including leased property, and who, as a necessary and incidental part of performing such services, annexes building materials to the real estate being so repaired or annexed or arranges for such annexation. See Nebraska Statutes 77-2701.10
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Corporation: means all corporations and all other entities that are taxed as corporations under the Internal Revenue Code. See Nebraska Statutes 77-2734.04
- Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
- Gross receipts: includes the sale of admissions. See Nebraska Statutes 77-2701.16
- Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
- Lease: includes agreements covering motor vehicles and trailers where the amount of consideration may be increased or decreased by reference to the amount realized upon sale or disposition of the property as defined for federal income tax purposes. See Nebraska Statutes 77-2701.18
- Personal property: All property that is not real property.
- Property: means all tangible and intangible property that is subject to tax under subsection (1) of section Nebraska Statutes 77-2701.27
- Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
- Sale: means any transfer of title or possession or segregation in contemplation of transfer of title or possession, exchange, barter, lease, or rental, conditional or otherwise, in any manner or by any means, of property for a consideration or the provision of service for a consideration. See Nebraska Statutes 77-2701.33
- Sales: means all gross receipts of the taxpayer, except:
(a) Income from discharge of indebtedness. See Nebraska Statutes 77-2734.04
- State: means any state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, any territory or possession of the United States, and any foreign country or political subdivision thereof. See Nebraska Statutes 77-2734.04
- Storage: includes any retention in this state for any purposes except sale in the regular course of business or subsequent use solely outside this state of property purchased from a retailer, other than property which will enter into or become an ingredient or component part of property manufactured, processed, or fabricated for ultimate sale at retail. See Nebraska Statutes 77-2701.37
- Tax Commissioner: means the Tax Commissioner of the State of Nebraska. See Nebraska Statutes 77-2701.40
- Use: means the exercise of any right or power over property incident to the ownership or possession of that property, except that use does not include the sale of that property in the regular course of business or the exercise of any right or power over property which will enter into or become an ingredient or component part of property manufactured, processed, or fabricated for ultimate sale at retail. See Nebraska Statutes 77-2701.42
(b) For purposes of this subsection, purchases by the state or by a governmental unit listed in subdivision (a) of this subsection include purchases by any nonprofit corporation under a lease-purchase agreement, financing lease, or other instrument which provides for transfer of title to the property to the state or governmental unit upon payment of all amounts due thereunder. If any nonprofit corporation will be making purchases under a lease-purchase agreement, financing lease, or other instrument as part of a project with a total estimated cost that exceeds the threshold amount, then such purchases shall qualify for an exemption under this section only if the question of proceeding with such project has been submitted at a primary, general, or special election held within the governmental unit that will be a party to the lease-purchase agreement, financing lease, or other instrument and has been approved by the voters of such governmental unit or the governmental unit’s expenditure towards the project is paid in whole or in part with redevelopment bonds. For purposes of this subdivision, (i) project means the acquisition of real property or the construction of a public building and (ii) threshold amount means the greater of fifty thousand dollars or six-tenths of one percent of the total actual value of real and personal property of the governmental unit that will be a party to the lease-purchase agreement, financing lease, or other instrument as of the end of the governmental unit’s prior fiscal year.
(2) The appointment of purchasing agents shall be recognized for the purpose of altering the status of the construction contractor as the ultimate consumer of building materials which are physically annexed to the structure and which subsequently belong to the state or the governmental unit. The appointment of purchasing agents shall be in writing and occur prior to having any building materials annexed to real estate in the construction, improvement, or repair. The contractor who has been appointed as a purchasing agent may apply for a refund of or use as a credit against a future use tax liability the tax paid on inventory items annexed to real estate in the construction, improvement, or repair of a project for the state or a governmental unit.
(3) Any governmental unit listed in subsection (1) of this section, except the state, which enters into a contract of construction, improvement, or repair upon property annexed to real estate without first issuing a purchasing agent authorization to a contractor or repairperson prior to the building materials being annexed to real estate in the project may apply to the Tax Commissioner for a refund of any sales and use tax paid by the contractor or repairperson on the building materials physically annexed to real estate in the construction, improvement, or repair.