Indiana DOR Finds Restaurants Entitled to Predominant Use Sales Tax Exemption for Electric Utility Service

The Indiana Department of Revenue (DOR) Oct. 30 published a letter of findings granting 51 related restaurants exemption from the sales and use tax on their electric utility bills. The restaurants used identical equipment and applied for sales tax refunds using the same utility study. The DOR approved predominant use exemptions for two of the restaurants and calculated various rates and partial refunds for the non-predominant use of electricity in production for the others. The restaurants protested, claiming their study showed that more than 50 percent of their utility services were consumed for exempt manufacturing purposes. By presenting the load ...