TX Supreme Court. XM Radio Franchise Fees

What is happening? The Comptroller and XM Radio had a kerfuffle on franchise fees. Xm maintained that since XM had little equipment and little producing of shows in Texas, that it could only be taxed for that which was created in Texas. The Comptroller, what catches taxes is that each radio decrypts the XM shows.

Why is this important? The Supreme Court agreed with XM and found that “In sum, Sirius has little personnel or equipment in Texas that performs the radio production and transmission services for which its customers pay monthly subscription fees. The court of appeals’ decision apportioning to Texas all of Sirius’s receipts from Texas subscribers must be reversed.” 

How will this be important? It may foreshadow how the TX Supreme Court rules on taxing streaming services.

SE Texas Record | Texas Supreme Court sides with Sirius XM in dispute over franchise taxes