To amend sections 165.09, 902.11, 2915.01, 4505.06, 4981.20, 5721.31, 5739.01, 5739.02, 5739.03, 5739.11, and 5741.02 of the Revised Code to clarify who pays the sales or use tax on packaging material used in highway transportation for hire, to clarify when the transfer of motion picture films is a sale, and to clarify who is to receive notice of delinquent property tax certificates.

Section 1. That sections 165.09, 902.11, 2915.01, 4505.06, 4981.20, 5721.31, 5739.01, 5739.02, 5739.03, 5739.11, and 5741.02 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:

Sec. 165.09.  Any real or personal property, or both, of an issuer which that is acquired, constructed, reconstructed, enlarged, improved, furnished or equipped, or any combination thereof, and leased or subleased under authority of either Chapter 165. or 761. of the Revised Code shall be subject to ad valorem, sales, use, and franchise taxes and to zoning, planning, and building regulations and fees, to the same extent and in the same manner as if the lessee-user or sublessee-user thereof, rather than the issuer, had acquired, constructed, reconstructed, enlarged, improved, furnished, or equipped, or any combination thereof, such real or personal property, and title thereto was in the name of such lessee-user or sublessee-user.

The transfer of tangible personal property by lease or sublease under authority of either Chapter 165. or 761. of the Revised Code is not a sale as used in Chapter 5739. of the Revised Code. The exemptions provided in divisions (B)(1) and (B)(14) of section 5739.02 of the Revised Code shall not be applicable to purchases for a project under either Chapters 165. or 761. of the Revised Code.

An issuer shall be exempt from all taxes on its real or personal property, or both, which that has been acquired, constructed, reconstructed, enlarged, improved, furnished, or equipped, or any combination thereof, under Chapter 165. or 761. of the Revised Code, so long as such property is used by the issuer for purposes which that would otherwise exempt such property; has ceased to be used by a former lessee-user or sublessee-user and is not occupied or used; or has been acquired by the issuer, but development has not yet commenced. The exemption shall be effective as of the date the exempt use begins. All taxes on the exempt real or personal property for the year should be prorated and the taxes for the exempt portion of the year shall be remitted by the county auditor.

Sec. 902.11.  (A) Any real or personal property, or both, of an issuer which that is acquired, constructed, reconstructed, enlarged, improved, furnished, or equipped, or any combination thereof, and leased or subleased under authority of this chapter shall be subject to ad valorem, sales, use, and franchise taxes and to zoning, planning, and building regulations and fees, to the same extent and in the same manner as if the lessee-user or sublessee-user thereof, rather than the issuer, had acquired, constructed, reconstructed, enlarged, improved, furnished, or equipped, or any combination thereof, such real or personal property, and title thereto was in the name of such lessee-user or sublessee-user.

The transfer of tangible personal property by lease or sublease under authority of this chapter is not a sale as used in Chapter 5739. of the Revised Code. The exemptions provided in divisions (B)(1) and (14) of section 5739.02 of the Revised Code shall not be applicable to purchases for a project under this chapter.

An issuer shall be exempt from all taxes on its real or personal property, or both, which that has been acquired, constructed, reconstructed, enlarged, improved, furnished, or equipped, or any combination thereof, under this chapter so long as such property is used by the issuer for purposes which that would otherwise exempt such property; has ceased to be used by a former lessee-user or sublessee-user and is not occupied or used; or has been acquired by the issuer, but development has not yet commenced. The exemption shall be effective as of the date the exempt use begins. All taxes on the exempt real or personal property for the year should be prorated and the taxes for the exempt portion of the year shall be remitted by the county auditor.

(B) Bonds issued under this chapter, the transfer thereof, and the interest and other income from the bonds, including any profit made on the sale thereof, are free from taxation within the state.

Sec. 2915.01.  As used in this chapter:

(A) "Bookmaking" means the business of receiving or paying off bets.

(B) "Bet" means the hazarding of anything of value upon the result of an event, undertaking, or contingency, but does not include a bona fide business risk.

(C) "Scheme of chance" means a slot machine, lottery, numbers game, pool, or other scheme in which a participant gives a valuable consideration for a chance to win a prize, but does not include bingo.

(D) "Game of chance" means poker, craps, roulette, or other game in which a player gives anything of value in the hope of gain, the outcome of which is determined largely by chance, but does not include bingo.

(E) "Game of chance conducted for profit" means any game of chance designed to produce income for the person who conducts or operates the game of chance, but does not include bingo.

(F) "Gambling device" means any of the following:

(1) A book, totalizer, or other equipment for recording bets;

(2) A ticket, token, or other device representing a chance, share, or interest in a scheme of chance or evidencing a bet;

(3) A deck of cards, dice, gaming table, roulette wheel, slot machine, or other apparatus designed for use in connection with a game of chance;

(4) Any equipment, device, apparatus, or paraphernalia specially designed for gambling purposes;

(5) Bingo supplies sold or otherwise provided, or used, in violation of this chapter.

(G) "Gambling offense" means any of the following:

(1) A violation of section 2915.02, 2915.03, 2915.04, 2915.05, 2915.07, 2915.08, 2915.081, 2915.082, 2915.09, 2915.091, 2915.092, 2915.10, or 2915.11 of the Revised Code;

(2) A violation of an existing or former municipal ordinance or law of this or any other state or the United States substantially equivalent to any section listed in division (G)(1) of this section or a violation of section 2915.06 of the Revised Code as it existed prior to July 1, 1996;

(3) An offense under an existing or former municipal ordinance or law of this or any other state or the United States, of which gambling is an element;

(4) A conspiracy or attempt to commit, or complicity in committing, any offense under division (G)(1), (2), or (3) of this section.

(H) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, "charitable organization" means any tax exempt religious, educational, veteran's, fraternal, service, nonprofit medical, volunteer rescue service, volunteer firefighter's, senior citizen's, youth athletic, amateur athletic, or youth athletic park organization. An organization is tax exempt if the organization is, and has received from the internal revenue service a determination letter that currently is in effect stating that the organization is, exempt from federal income taxation under subsection 501(a) and described in subsection 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), 501(c)(8), 501(c)(10), or 501(c)(19) of the Internal Revenue Code. To qualify as a charitable organization, an organization, except a volunteer rescue service or volunteer fire fighter's organization, shall have been in continuous existence as such in this state for a period of two years immediately preceding either the making of an application for a bingo license under section 2915.08 of the Revised Code or the conducting of any scheme of chance or game of chance as provided in division (C) of section 2915.02 of the Revised Code. A charitable organization that is exempt from federal income taxation under subsection 501(a) and described in subsection 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and that is created by a veteran's organization or a fraternal organization does not have to have been in continuous existence as such in this state for a period of two years immediately preceding either the making of an application for a bingo license under section 2915.08 of the Revised Code or the conducting of any scheme of chance or game of chance as provided in division (D) of section 2915.02 of the Revised Code.

(I) "Religious organization" means any church, body of communicants, or group that is not organized or operated for profit and that gathers in common membership for regular worship and religious observances.

(J) "Educational organization" means any organization within this state that is not organized for profit, the exclusive purpose of which is to educate and develop the capabilities of individuals through instruction, and that operates or contributes to the support of a school, academy, college, or university.

(K) "Veteran's organization" means any individual post of a national veteran's association or an auxiliary unit of any individual post of a national veteran's association, which post or auxiliary unit has been incorporated as a nonprofit corporation for at least two years and has received a letter from the state headquarters of the national veteran's association indicating that the individual post or auxiliary unit is in good standing with the national veteran's association. As used in this division, "national veteran's association" means any veteran's association that has been in continuous existence as such for a period of at least five years and either is incorporated by an act of the United States congress or has a national dues-paying membership of at least five thousand persons.

(L) "Volunteer firefighter's organization" means any organization of volunteer firefighters, as defined in section 146.01 of the Revised Code, that is organized and operated exclusively to provide financial support for a volunteer fire department or a volunteer fire company and that is recognized or ratified by a county, municipal corporation, or township.

(M) "Fraternal organization" means any society, order, or association within this state, except a college or high school fraternity, that is not organized for profit, that is a branch, lodge, or chapter of a national or state organization, that exists exclusively for the common business or sodality of its members, and that has been in continuous existence in this state for a period of five years.

(N) "Volunteer rescue service organization" means any organization of volunteers organized to function as an emergency medical service organization, as defined in section 4765.01 of the Revised Code.

(O) "Service organization" means any organization, not organized for profit, that is organized and operated exclusively to provide, or to contribute to the support of organizations or institutions organized and operated exclusively to provide, medical and therapeutic services for persons who are crippled, born with birth defects, or have any other mental or physical defect or those organized and operated exclusively to protect, or to contribute to the support of organizations or institutions organized and operated exclusively to protect, animals from inhumane treatment.

(P) "Nonprofit medical organization" means any organization that has been incorporated as a nonprofit corporation for at least five years and that has continuously operated and will be operated exclusively to provide, or to contribute to the support of organizations or institutions organized and operated exclusively to provide, hospital, medical, research, or therapeutic services for the public.

(Q) "Senior citizen's organization" means any private organization, not organized for profit, that is organized and operated exclusively to provide recreational or social services for persons who are fifty-five years of age or older and that is described and qualified under subsection 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

(R) "Charitable bingo game" means any bingo game described in division (S)(1) or (2) of this section that is conducted by a charitable organization that has obtained a license pursuant to section 2915.08 of the Revised Code and the proceeds of which are used for a charitable purpose.

(S) "Bingo" means either of the following:

(1) A game with all of the following characteristics:

(a) The participants use bingo cards or sheets, including paper formats and electronic representation or image formats, that are divided into twenty-five spaces arranged in five horizontal and five vertical rows of spaces, with each space, except the central space, being designated by a combination of a letter and a number and with the central space being designated as a free space.

(b) The participants cover the spaces on the bingo cards or sheets that correspond to combinations of letters and numbers that are announced by a bingo game operator.

(c) A bingo game operator announces combinations of letters and numbers that appear on objects that a bingo game operator selects by chance, either manually or mechanically, from a receptacle that contains seventy-five objects at the beginning of each game, each object marked by a different combination of a letter and a number that corresponds to one of the seventy-five possible combinations of a letter and a number that can appear on the bingo cards or sheets.

(d) The winner of the bingo game includes any participant who properly announces during the interval between the announcements of letters and numbers as described in division (S)(1)(c) of this section, that a predetermined and preannounced pattern of spaces has been covered on a bingo card or sheet being used by the participant.

(2) Instant bingo, punch boards, and raffles.

(T) "Conduct" means to back, promote, organize, manage, carry on, sponsor, or prepare for the operation of bingo or a game of chance.

(U) "Bingo game operator" means any person, except security personnel, who performs work or labor at the site of bingo, including, but not limited to, collecting money from participants, handing out bingo cards or sheets or objects to cover spaces on bingo cards or sheets, selecting from a receptacle the objects that contain the combination of letters and numbers that appear on bingo cards or sheets, calling out the combinations of letters and numbers, distributing prizes, selling or redeeming instant bingo tickets or cards, supervising the operation of a punch board, selling raffle tickets, selecting raffle tickets from a receptacle and announcing the winning numbers in a raffle, and preparing, selling, and serving food or beverages.

(V) "Participant" means any person who plays bingo.

(W) "Bingo session" means a period that includes both of the following:

(1) Not to exceed five continuous hours for the conduct of one or more games described in division (S)(1) of this section, instant bingo, and seal cards;

(2) A period for the conduct of instant bingo and seal cards for not more than two hours before and not more than two hours after the period described in division (W)(1) of this section.

(X) "Gross receipts" means all money or assets, including admission fees, that a person receives from bingo without the deduction of any amounts for prizes paid out or for the expenses of conducting bingo. "Gross receipts" does not include any money directly taken in from the sale of food or beverages by a charitable organization conducting bingo, or by a bona fide auxiliary unit or society of a charitable organization conducting bingo, provided all of the following apply:

(1) The auxiliary unit or society has been in existence as a bona fide auxiliary unit or society of the charitable organization for at least two years prior to conducting bingo.

(2) The person who purchases the food or beverage receives nothing of value except the food or beverage and items customarily received with the purchase of that food or beverage.

(3) The food and beverages are sold at customary and reasonable prices.

(Y) "Security personnel" includes any person who either is a sheriff, deputy sheriff, marshal, deputy marshal, township constable, or member of an organized police department of a municipal corporation or has successfully completed a peace officer's training course pursuant to sections 109.71 to 109.79 of the Revised Code and who is hired to provide security for the premises on which bingo is conducted.

(Z) "Charitable purpose" means that the net profit of bingo, other than instant bingo, is used by, or is given, donated, or otherwise transferred to, any of the following:

(1) Any organization that is described in subsection 509(a)(1), 509(a)(2), or 509(a)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and is either a governmental unit or an organization that is tax exempt under subsection 501(a) and described in subsection 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code;

(2) A veteran's organization that is a post, chapter, or organization of veterans, or an auxiliary unit or society of, or a trust or foundation for, any such post, chapter, or organization organized in the United States or any of its possessions, at least seventy-five per cent of the members of which are veterans and substantially all of the other members of which are individuals who are spouses, widows, or widowers of veterans, or such individuals, provided that no part of the net earnings of such post, chapter, or organization inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual, and further provided that the net profit is used by the post, chapter, or organization for the charitable purposes set forth in division (B)(12) of section 5739.02 of the Revised Code, is used for awarding scholarships to or for attendance at an institution mentioned in division (B)(12) of section 5739.02 of the Revised Code, is donated to a governmental agency, or is used for nonprofit youth activities, the purchase of United States or Ohio flags that are donated to schools, youth groups, or other bona fide nonprofit organizations, promotion of patriotism, or disaster relief;

(3) A fraternal organization that has been in continuous existence in this state for fifteen years and that uses the net profit exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, literary, or educational purposes, or for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals, if contributions for such use would qualify as a deductible charitable contribution under subsection 170 of the Internal Revenue Code;

(4) A volunteer firefighter's organization that uses the net profit for the purposes set forth in division (L) of this section.

(AA) "Internal Revenue Code" means the "Internal Revenue Code of 1986," 100 Stat. 2085, 26 U.S.C. 1, as now or hereafter amended.

(BB) "Youth athletic organization" means any organization, not organized for profit, that is organized and operated exclusively to provide financial support to, or to operate, athletic activities for persons who are twenty-one years of age or younger by means of sponsoring, organizing, operating, or contributing to the support of an athletic team, club, league, or association.

(CC) "Youth athletic park organization" means any organization, not organized for profit, that satisfies both of the following:

(1) It owns, operates, and maintains playing fields that satisfy both of the following:

(a) The playing fields are used at least one hundred days per year for athletic activities by one or more organizations, not organized for profit, each of which is organized and operated exclusively to provide financial support to, or to operate, athletic activities for persons who are eighteen years of age or younger by means of sponsoring, organizing, operating, or contributing to the support of an athletic team, club, league, or association.

(b) The playing fields are not used for any profit-making activity at any time during the year.

(2) It uses the proceeds of bingo it conducts exclusively for the operation, maintenance, and improvement of its playing fields of the type described in division (CC)(1) of this section.

(DD) "Amateur athletic organization" means any organization, not organized for profit, that is organized and operated exclusively to provide financial support to, or to operate, athletic activities for persons who are training for amateur athletic competition that is sanctioned by a national governing body as defined in the "Amateur Sports Act of 1978," 90 Stat. 3045, 36 U.S.C.A. 373.

(EE) "Bingo supplies" means bingo cards or sheets; instant bingo tickets or cards; electronic bingo aids; raffle tickets; punch boards; seal cards; instant bingo ticket dispensers; and devices for selecting or displaying the combination of bingo letters and numbers or raffle tickets. Items that are "bingo supplies" are not gambling devices if sold or otherwise provided, and used, in accordance with this chapter. For purposes of this chapter, "bingo supplies" are not to be considered equipment used to conduct a bingo game.

(FF) "Instant bingo" means a form of bingo that uses folded or banded tickets or paper cards with perforated break-open tabs, a face of which is covered or otherwise hidden from view to conceal a number, letter, or symbol, or set of numbers, letters, or symbols, some of which have been designated in advance as prize winners. "Instant bingo" includes seal cards. "Instant bingo" does not include any device that is activated by the insertion of a coin, currency, token, or an equivalent, and that contains as one of its components a video display monitor that is capable of displaying numbers, letters, symbols, or characters in winning or losing combinations.

(GG) "Seal card" means a form of instant bingo that uses instant bingo tickets in conjunction with a board or placard that contains one or more seals that, when removed or opened, reveal predesignated winning numbers, letters, or symbols.

(HH) "Raffle" means a form of bingo in which the one or more prizes are won by one or more persons who have purchased a raffle ticket. The one or more winners of the raffle are determined by drawing a ticket stub or other detachable section from a receptacle containing ticket stubs or detachable sections corresponding to all tickets sold for the raffle.

(II) "Punch board" means a board containing a number of holes or receptacles of uniform size in which are placed, mechanically and randomly, serially numbered slips of paper that may be punched or drawn from the hole or receptacle when used in conjunction with instant bingo. A player may punch or draw the numbered slips of paper from the holes or receptacles and obtain the prize established for the game if the number drawn corresponds to a winning number or, if the punch board includes the use of a seal card, a potential winning number.

(JJ) "Gross profit" means gross receipts minus the amount actually expended for the payment of prize awards.

(KK) "Net profit" means gross profit minus expenses.

(LL) "Expenses" means the reasonable amount of gross profit actually expended for all of the following:

(1) The purchase or lease of bingo supplies;

(2) The annual license fee required under section 2915.08 of the Revised Code;

(3) Bank fees and service charges for a bingo session or game account described in section 2915.10 of the Revised Code;

(4) Audits and accounting services;

(5) Safes;

(6) Cash registers;

(7) Hiring security personnel;

(8) Advertising bingo;

(9) Renting premises in which to conduct bingo;

(10) Tables and chairs;

(11) Any other product or service directly related to the conduct of bingo that is authorized in rules adopted by the attorney general under division (B)(1) of section 2915.08 of the Revised Code.

(MM) "Person" has the same meaning as in section 1.59 of the Revised Code and includes any firm or any other legal entity, however organized.

(NN) "Revoke" means to void permanently all rights and privileges of the holder of a license issued under section 2915.08, 2915.081, or 2915.082 of the Revised Code or a charitable gaming license issued by another jurisdiction.

(OO) "Suspend" means to interrupt temporarily all rights and privileges of the holder of a license issued under section 2915.08, 2915.081, or 2915.082 of the Revised Code or a charitable gaming license issued by another jurisdiction.

(PP) "Distributor" means any person who purchases or obtains bingo supplies and who sells, offers for sale, or otherwise provides or offers to provide the bingo supplies to another person for use in this state.

(QQ) "Manufacturer" means any person who assembles completed bingo supplies from raw materials, other items, or subparts or who modifies, converts, adds to, or removes parts from bingo supplies to further their promotion or sale.

(RR) "Gross annual revenues" means the annual gross receipts derived from the conduct of bingo described in division (S)(1) of this section plus the annual net profit derived from the conduct of bingo described in division (S)(2) of this section.

(SS) "Instant bingo ticket dispenser" means a mechanical device that dispenses an instant bingo ticket or card as the sole item of value dispensed and that has the following characteristics:

(1) It is activated upon the insertion of United States currency.

(2) It performs no gaming functions.

(3) It does not contain a video display monitor or generate noise.

(4) It is not capable of displaying any numbers, letters, symbols, or characters in winning or losing combinations.

(5) It does not simulate or display rolling or spinning reels.

(6) It is incapable of determining whether a dispensed bingo ticket or card is a winning or nonwinning ticket or card and requires a winning ticket or card to be paid by a bingo game operator.

(7) It may provide accounting and security features to aid in accounting for the instant bingo tickets or cards it dispenses.

(8) It is not part of an electronic network and is not interactive.

(TT)(1) "Electronic bingo aid" means an electronic device used by a participant to monitor bingo cards or sheets purchased at the time and place of a bingo session and that does all of the following:

(a) It provides a means for a participant to input numbers and letters announced by a bingo caller.

(b) It compares the numbers and letters entered by the participant to the bingo faces previously stored in the memory of the device.

(c) It identifies a winning bingo pattern.

(2) "Electronic bingo aid" does not include any device into which a coin, currency, token, or an equivalent is inserted to activate play.

(UU) "Deal of instant bingo tickets" means a single game of instant bingo tickets all with the same serial number.

(VV) "Slot" machine means either of the following:

(1) Any mechanical, electronic, video, or digital device that is capable of accepting anything of value, directly or indirectly, from or on behalf of a player who gives the thing of value in the hope of gain, the outcome of which is determined largely or wholly by chance;

(2) Any mechanical, electronic, video, or digital device that is capable of accepting anything of value, directly or indirectly, from or on behalf of a player to conduct or dispense bingo or a scheme or game of chance.

(WW) "Net profit from the proceeds of the sale of instant bingo" means gross profit minus the ordinary, necessary, and reasonable expense expended for the purchase of instant bingo supplies.

(XX) "Charitable instant bingo organization" means an organization that is exempt from federal income taxation under subsection 501(a) and described in subsection 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and is a charitable organization as defined in this section. A "charitable instant bingo organization" does not include a charitable organization that is exempt from federal income taxation under subsection 501(a) and described in subsection 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and that is created by a veteran's organization or a fraternal organization in regards to bingo conducted or assisted by a veteran's organization or a fraternal organization pursuant to section 2915.13 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 4505.06.  (A)(1) Application for a certificate of title shall be made in a form prescribed by the registrar of motor vehicles and shall be sworn to before a notary public or other officer empowered to administer oaths. The application shall be filed with the clerk of any court of common pleas. An application for a certificate of title may be filed electronically by any electronic means approved by the registrar in any county with the clerk of the court of common pleas of that county. Any payments required by this chapter shall be considered as accompanying any electronically transmitted application when payment actually is received by the clerk. Payment of any fee or taxes may be made by electronic transfer of funds.

(2) The application for a certificate of title shall be accompanied by the fee prescribed in section 4505.09 of the Revised Code. The fee shall be retained by the clerk who issues the certificate of title and shall be distributed in accordance with that section. If a clerk of a court of common pleas, other than the clerk of the court of common pleas of an applicant's county of residence, issues a certificate of title to the applicant, the clerk shall transmit data related to the transaction to the automated title processing system.

(3) If a certificate of title previously has been issued for a motor vehicle in this state, the application for a certificate of title also shall be accompanied by that certificate of title duly assigned, unless otherwise provided in this chapter. If a certificate of title previously has not been issued for the motor vehicle in this state, the application, unless otherwise provided in this chapter, shall be accompanied by a manufacturer's or importer's certificate or by a certificate of title of another state from which the motor vehicle was brought into this state. If the application refers to a motor vehicle last previously registered in another state, the application also shall be accompanied by the physical inspection certificate required by section 4505.061 of the Revised Code. If the application is made by two persons regarding a motor vehicle in which they wish to establish joint ownership with right of survivorship, they may do so as provided in section 2131.12 of the Revised Code. If the applicant requests a designation of the motor vehicle in beneficiary form so that upon the death of the owner of the motor vehicle, ownership of the motor vehicle will pass to a designated transfer-on-death beneficiary or beneficiaries, the applicant may do so as provided in section 2131.13 of the Revised Code. A person who establishes ownership of a motor vehicle that is transferable on death in accordance with section 2131.13 of the Revised Code may terminate that type of ownership or change the designation of the transfer-on-death beneficiary or beneficiaries by applying for a certificate of title pursuant to this section. The clerk shall retain the evidence of title presented by the applicant and on which the certificate of title is issued, except that, if an application for a certificate of title is filed electronically by an electronic motor vehicle dealer on behalf of the purchaser of a motor vehicle, the clerk shall retain the completed electronic record to which the dealer converted the certificate of title application and other required documents. The electronic motor vehicle dealer shall forward the actual application and all other documents relating to the sale of the motor vehicle to any clerk within thirty days after the certificate of title is issued. The registrar, after consultation with the attorney general, shall adopt rules that govern the location at which, and the manner in which, are stored the actual application and all other documents relating to the sale of a motor vehicle when an electronic motor vehicle dealer files the application for a certificate of title electronically on behalf of the purchaser.

The clerk shall use reasonable diligence in ascertaining whether or not the facts in the application for a certificate of title are true by checking the application and documents accompanying it or the electronic record to which a dealer converted the application and accompanying documents with the records of motor vehicles in the clerk's office. If the clerk is satisfied that the applicant is the owner of the motor vehicle and that the application is in the proper form, the clerk, within five business days after the application is filed, shall issue a physical certificate of title over the clerk's signature and sealed with the clerk's seal, unless the applicant specifically requests the clerk not to issue a physical certificate of title and instead to issue an electronic certificate of title. For purposes of the transfer of a certificate of title, if the clerk is satisfied that the secured party has duly discharged a lien notation but has not canceled the lien notation with a clerk, the clerk may cancel the lien notation on the automated title processing system and notify the clerk of the county of origin.

(4) In the case of the sale of a motor vehicle to a general buyer or user by a dealer, by a motor vehicle leasing dealer selling the motor vehicle to the lessee or, in a case in which the leasing dealer subleased the motor vehicle, the sublessee, at the end of the lease agreement or sublease agreement, or by a manufactured home broker, the certificate of title shall be obtained in the name of the buyer by the dealer, leasing dealer, or manufactured home broker, as the case may be, upon application signed by the buyer. The certificate of title shall be issued, or the process of entering the certificate of title application information into the automated title processing system if a physical certificate of title is not to be issued shall be completed, within five business days after the application for title is filed with the clerk. If the buyer of the motor vehicle previously leased the motor vehicle and is buying the motor vehicle at the end of the lease pursuant to that lease, the certificate of title shall be obtained in the name of the buyer by the motor vehicle leasing dealer who previously leased the motor vehicle to the buyer or by the motor vehicle leasing dealer who subleased the motor vehicle to the buyer under a sublease agreement.

In all other cases, except as provided in section 4505.032 and division (D)(2) of section 4505.11 of the Revised Code, such certificates shall be obtained by the buyer.

(5)(a)(i) If the certificate of title is being obtained in the name of the buyer by a motor vehicle dealer or motor vehicle leasing dealer and there is a security interest to be noted on the certificate of title, the dealer or leasing dealer shall submit the application for the certificate of title and payment of the applicable tax to a clerk within seven business days after the later of the delivery of the motor vehicle to the buyer or the date the dealer or leasing dealer obtains the manufacturer's or importer's certificate, or certificate of title issued in the name of the dealer or leasing dealer, for the motor vehicle. Submission of the application for the certificate of title and payment of the applicable tax within the required seven business days may be indicated by postmark or receipt by a clerk within that period.

(ii) Upon receipt of the certificate of title with the security interest noted on its face, the dealer or leasing dealer shall forward the certificate of title to the secured party at the location noted in the financing documents or otherwise specified by the secured party.

(iii) A motor vehicle dealer or motor vehicle leasing dealer is liable to a secured party for a late fee of ten dollars per day for each certificate of title application and payment of the applicable tax that is submitted to a clerk more than seven business days but less than twenty-one days after the later of the delivery of the motor vehicle to the buyer or the date the dealer or leasing dealer obtains the manufacturer's or importer's certificate, or certificate of title issued in the name of the dealer or leasing dealer, for the motor vehicle and, from then on, twenty-five dollars per day until the application and applicable tax are submitted to a clerk.

(b) In all cases of transfer of a motor vehicle, the application for certificate of title shall be filed within thirty days after the assignment or delivery of the motor vehicle. If an application for a certificate of title is not filed within the period specified in division (A)(5)(b) of this section, the clerk shall collect a fee of five dollars for the issuance of the certificate, except that no such fee shall be required from a motor vehicle salvage dealer, as defined in division (A) of section 4738.01 of the Revised Code, who immediately surrenders the certificate of title for cancellation. The fee shall be in addition to all other fees established by this chapter, and shall be retained by the clerk. The registrar shall provide, on the certificate of title form prescribed by section 4505.07 of the Revised Code, language necessary to give evidence of the date on which the assignment or delivery of the motor vehicle was made.

(6) As used in division (A) of this section, "lease agreement," "lessee," and "sublease agreement" have the same meanings as in section 4505.04 of the Revised Code.

(B) The clerk, except as provided in this section, shall refuse to accept for filing any application for a certificate of title and shall refuse to issue a certificate of title unless the dealer or manufactured home broker or the applicant, in cases in which the certificate shall be obtained by the buyer, submits with the application payment of the tax levied by or pursuant to Chapters 5739. and 5741. of the Revised Code based on the purchaser's county of residence. Upon payment of the tax in accordance with division (E) of this section, the clerk shall issue a receipt prescribed by the registrar and agreed upon by the tax commissioner showing payment of the tax or a receipt issued by the commissioner showing the payment of the tax. When submitting payment of the tax to the clerk, a dealer shall retain any discount to which the dealer is entitled under section 5739.12 of the Revised Code.

For receiving and disbursing such taxes paid to the clerk by a resident of the clerk's county, the clerk may retain a poundage fee of one and one one-hundredth per cent, and the clerk shall pay the poundage fee into the certificate of title administration fund created by section 325.33 of the Revised Code. The clerk shall not retain a poundage fee from payments of taxes by persons who do not reside in the clerk's county.

A clerk, however, may retain from the taxes paid to the clerk an amount equal to the poundage fees associated with certificates of title issued by other clerks of courts of common pleas to applicants who reside in the first clerk's county. The registrar, in consultation with the tax commissioner and the clerks of the courts of common pleas, shall develop a report from the automated title processing system that informs each clerk of the amount of the poundage fees that the clerk is permitted to retain from those taxes because of certificates of title issued by the clerks of other counties to applicants who reside in the first clerk's county.

In the case of casual sales of motor vehicles, as defined in section 4517.01 of the Revised Code, the price for the purpose of determining the tax shall be the purchase price on the assigned certificate of title executed by the seller and filed with the clerk by the buyer on a form to be prescribed by the registrar, which shall be prima-facie evidence of the amount for the determination of the tax.

(C)(1) If the transferor indicates on the certificate of title that the odometer reflects mileage in excess of the designed mechanical limit of the odometer, the clerk shall enter the phrase "exceeds mechanical limits" following the mileage designation. If the transferor indicates on the certificate of title that the odometer reading is not the actual mileage, the clerk shall enter the phrase "nonactual: warning - odometer discrepancy" following the mileage designation. The clerk shall use reasonable care in transferring the information supplied by the transferor, but is not liable for any errors or omissions of the clerk or those of the clerk's deputies in the performance of the clerk's duties created by this chapter.

The registrar shall prescribe an affidavit in which the transferor shall swear to the true selling price and, except as provided in this division, the true odometer reading of the motor vehicle. The registrar may prescribe an affidavit in which the seller and buyer provide information pertaining to the odometer reading of the motor vehicle in addition to that required by this section, as such information may be required by the United States secretary of transportation by rule prescribed under authority of subchapter IV of the "Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act," 86 Stat. 961 (1972), 15 U.S.C. 1981.

(2) Division (C)(1) of this section does not require the giving of information concerning the odometer and odometer reading of a motor vehicle when ownership of a motor vehicle is being transferred as a result of a bequest, under the laws of intestate succession, to a survivor pursuant to section 2106.18, 2131.12, or 4505.10 of the Revised Code, to a transfer-on-death beneficiary or beneficiaries pursuant to section 2131.13 of the Reviseed Code, or in connection with the creation of a security interest.

(D) When the transfer to the applicant was made in some other state or in interstate commerce, the clerk, except as provided in this section, shall refuse to issue any certificate of title unless the tax imposed by or pursuant to Chapter 5741. of the Revised Code based on the purchaser's county of residence has been paid as evidenced by a receipt issued by the tax commissioner, or unless the applicant submits with the application payment of the tax. Upon payment of the tax in accordance with division (E) of this section, the clerk shall issue a receipt prescribed by the registrar and agreed upon by the tax commissioner, showing payment of the tax.

For receiving and disbursing such taxes paid to the clerk by a resident of the clerk's county, the clerk may retain a poundage fee of one and one one-hundredth per cent. The clerk shall not retain a poundage fee from payments of taxes by persons who do not reside in the clerk's county.

A clerk, however, may retain from the taxes paid to the clerk an amount equal to the poundage fees associated with certificates of title issued by other clerks of courts of common pleas to applicants who reside in the first clerk's county. The registrar, in consultation with the tax commissioner and the clerks of the courts of common pleas, shall develop a report from the automated title processing system that informs each clerk of the amount of the poundage fees that the clerk is permitted to retain from those taxes because of certificates of title issued by the clerks of other counties to applicants who reside in the first clerk's county.

When the vendor is not regularly engaged in the business of selling motor vehicles, the vendor shall not be required to purchase a vendor's license or make reports concerning those sales.

(E) The clerk shall accept any payment of a tax in cash, or by cashier's check, certified check, draft, money order, or teller check issued by any insured financial institution payable to the clerk and submitted with an application for a certificate of title under division (B) or (D) of this section. The clerk also may accept payment of the tax by corporate, business, or personal check, credit card, electronic transfer or wire transfer, debit card, or any other accepted form of payment made payable to the clerk. The clerk may require bonds, guarantees, or letters of credit to ensure the collection of corporate, business, or personal checks. Any service fee charged by a third party to a clerk for the use of any form of payment may be paid by the clerk from the certificate of title administration fund created in section 325.33 of the Revised Code, or may be assessed by the clerk upon the applicant as an additional fee. Upon collection, the additional fees shall be paid by the clerk into that certificate of title administration fund.

The clerk shall make a good faith effort to collect any payment of taxes due but not made because the payment was returned or dishonored, but the clerk is not personally liable for the payment of uncollected taxes or uncollected fees. The clerk shall notify the tax commissioner of any such payment of taxes that is due but not made and shall furnish the information to the commissioner that the commissioner requires. The clerk shall deduct the amount of taxes due but not paid from the clerk's periodic remittance of tax payments, in accordance with procedures agreed upon by the tax commissioner. The commissioner may collect taxes due by assessment in the manner provided in section 5739.13 of the Revised Code.

Any person who presents payment that is returned or dishonored for any reason is liable to the clerk for payment of a penalty over and above the amount of the taxes due. The clerk shall determine the amount of the penalty, and the penalty shall be no greater than that amount necessary to compensate the clerk for banking charges, legal fees, or other expenses incurred by the clerk in collecting the returned or dishonored payment. The remedies and procedures provided in this section are in addition to any other available civil or criminal remedies. Subsequently collected penalties, poundage fees, and title fees, less any title fee due the state, from returned or dishonored payments collected by the clerk shall be paid into the certificate of title administration fund. Subsequently collected taxes, less poundage fees, shall be sent by the clerk to the treasurer of state at the next scheduled periodic remittance of tax payments, with information as the commissioner may require. The clerk may abate all or any part of any penalty assessed under this division.

(F) In the following cases, the clerk shall accept for filing an application and shall issue a certificate of title without requiring payment or evidence of payment of the tax:

(1) When the purchaser is this state or any of its political subdivisions, a church, or an organization whose purchases are exempted by section 5739.02 of the Revised Code;

(2) When the transaction in this state is not a retail sale as defined by section 5739.01 of the Revised Code;

(3) When the purchase is outside this state or in interstate commerce and the purpose of the purchaser is not to use, store, or consume within the meaning of section 5741.01 of the Revised Code;

(4) When the purchaser is the federal government;

(5) When the motor vehicle was purchased outside this state for use outside this state;

(6) When the motor vehicle is purchased by a nonresident of this state for immediate removal from this state, and will be permanently titled and registered in another state, as provided by division (B)(23) of section 5739.02 of the Revised Code, and upon presentation of a copy of the affidavit provided by that section, and a copy of the exemption certificate provided by section 5739.03 of the Revised Code.

The clerk shall forward all payments of taxes, less poundage fees, to the treasurer of state in a manner to be prescribed by the tax commissioner and shall furnish information to the commissioner as the commissioner requires.

(G) An application, as prescribed by the registrar and agreed to by the tax commissioner, shall be filled out and sworn to by the buyer of a motor vehicle in a casual sale. The application shall contain the following notice in bold lettering: "WARNING TO TRANSFEROR AND TRANSFEREE (SELLER AND BUYER): You are required by law to state the true selling price. A false statement is in violation of section 2921.13 of the Revised Code and is punishable by six months' imprisonment or a fine of up to one thousand dollars, or both. All transfers are audited by the department of taxation. The seller and buyer must provide any information requested by the department of taxation. The buyer may be assessed any additional tax found to be due."

(H) For sales of manufactured homes or mobile homes occurring on or after January 1, 2000, the clerk shall accept for filing, pursuant to Chapter 5739. of the Revised Code, an application for a certificate of title for a manufactured home or mobile home without requiring payment of any tax pursuant to section 5739.02, 5741.021, 5741.022, or 5741.023 of the Revised Code, or a receipt issued by the tax commissioner showing payment of the tax. For sales of manufactured homes or mobile homes occurring on or after January 1, 2000, the applicant shall pay to the clerk an additional fee of five dollars for each certificate of title issued by the clerk for a manufactured or mobile home pursuant to division (H) of section 4505.11 of the Revised Code and for each certificate of title issued upon transfer of ownership of the home. The clerk shall credit the fee to the county certificate of title administration fund, and the fee shall be used to pay the expenses of archiving those certificates pursuant to division (A) of section 4505.08 and division (H)(3) of section 4505.11 of the Revised Code. The tax commissioner shall administer any tax on a manufactured or mobile home pursuant to Chapters 5739. and 5741. of the Revised Code.

(I) Every clerk shall have the capability to transact by electronic means all procedures and transactions relating to the issuance of motor vehicle certificates of title that are described in the Revised Code as being accomplished by electronic means.

Sec. 4981.20.  (A) Any real or personal property, or both, of the Ohio rail development commission that is acquired, constructed, reconstructed, enlarged, improved, furnished, or equipped, or any combination thereof, and leased or subleased under authority of sections 4981.11 to 4981.26 of the Revised Code shall be subject to ad valorem, sales, use, and franchise taxes and to zoning, planning, and building regulations and fees, to the same extent and in the same manner as if the lessee-user or sublessee-user thereof, rather than the issuer, had acquired, constructed, reconstructed, enlarged, improved, furnished, or equipped, or any combination thereof, such real or personal property, and title thereto was in the name of such lessee-user or sublessee-user.

The transfer of tangible personal property by lease or sublease under authority of sections 4981.11 to 4981.26 of the Revised Code is not a sale as used in Chapter 5739. of the Revised Code. The exemptions provided in divisions (B)(1) and (14) of section 5739.02 of the Revised Code shall not be applicable to purchases for a project under sections 4981.11 to 4981.26 of the Revised Code.

The issuer shall be exempt from all taxes on its real or personal property, or both, which has been acquired, constructed, reconstructed, enlarged, improved, furnished, or equipped, or any combination thereof, under sections 4981.11 to 4981.26 of the Revised Code so long as such property is used by the issuer for purposes which that would otherwise exempt such property; has ceased to be used by a former lessee-user or sublessee-user and is not occupied or used; or has been acquired by the issuer but development has not yet commenced. The exemption shall be effective as of the date the exempt use begins. All taxes on the exempt real or personal property for the year should be prorated and the taxes for the exempt portion of the year shall be remitted by the county auditor.

(B) Bonds issued under sections 4981.11 to 4981.26 of the Revised Code, the transfer thereof, and the interest and other income from the bonds, including any profit made on the sale thereof, are free from taxation within the state.

Sec. 5721.31.  (A) After receipt of a duplicate of the delinquent land list compiled under section 5721.011 of the Revised Code, or a delinquent land list compiled previously under that section, for a county having a population of at least two hundred thousand according to the most recent federal decennial census, the county treasurer may select from the list parcels of delinquent land the lien against which the county treasurer may attempt to transfer by the sale of tax certificates under sections 5721.30 to 5721.41 of the Revised Code. The county treasurer may select only those eligible parcels for which taxes, assessments, penalties, interest, and charges have not yet been paid or for which a valid delinquent tax contract under section 323.31 of the Revised Code is not in force. Each certificate shall contain the same information as is required to be contained in the delinquent land list. The county treasurer shall compile a separate list, the list of parcels selected for tax certificate sales, including the same information as is required to be included in the delinquent land list.

Upon compiling the list of parcels selected for tax certificate sales, the county treasurer may conduct a title search for any parcel on the list.

(B)(1) When tax certificates are to be sold under section 5721.32 of the Revised Code with respect to parcels, the county treasurer shall send written notice by certified or registered mail to either the owner of record or all interested parties discoverable through a title search, or both, of each parcel on the list. A notice to an owner shall be sent to the owner's last known tax mailing address. The notice shall inform the owner or interested parties that a tax certificate will be offered for sale on the parcel, and that the owner or interested parties may incur additional expenses as a result of the sale.

(2) When tax certificates are to be sold under section 5721.33 of the Revised Code with respect to parcels, the county treasurer, at least sixty days prior to the date of sale of such tax certificates, shall send written notice of the sale by certified or registered mail, or both, to the last known tax-mailing address of the record owner of the property or parcel and or to all parties with an interest in the property that has been recorded in the property records of the county pursuant to section 317.08 of the Revised Code, the or to such owner and all such parties. The notice shall state that a tax certificate will be offered for sale on the parcel, and that the owner or interested parties may incur additional expenses as a result of the sale.

(C) The county treasurer shall advertise the sale of tax certificates under section 5721.32 of the Revised Code in a newspaper of general circulation in the county, once a week for two consecutive weeks. The advertisement shall include the date, the time, and the place of the public auction, descriptions of the parcels, and the names of the owners of record of the parcels.

(D) After the county treasurer has compiled the list of parcels selected for tax certificate sales but before a tax certificate respecting a parcel is sold, if the owner of record of the parcel pays to the county treasurer in cash the full amount of delinquent taxes, assessments, penalties, interest, and charges then due and payable or enters into a valid delinquent tax contract under section 323.31 of the Revised Code to pay that amount, the owner of record of the parcel also shall pay a fee in an amount prescribed by the treasurer to cover the administrative costs of the treasurer under this section respecting the parcel and credited to the tax certificate administration fund.

(E) A tax certificate administration fund shall be created in the county treasury of each county selling tax certificates under sections 5721.30 to 5721.41 of the Revised Code. The fund shall be administered by the county treasurer, and used solely for the purposes of sections 5721.30 to 5721.41 of the Revised Code. Any fee received by the treasurer under sections 5721.30 to 5721.41 of the Revised Code shall be credited to the fund, except the bidder registration fee under division (B) of section 5721.32 of the Revised Code and the county prosecuting attorney's fee under division (B)(3) of section 5721.37 of the Revised Code.

(F) The county treasurers of more than one county may jointly conduct a regional sale of tax certificates under section 5721.32 of the Revised Code. A regional sale shall be held at a single location in one county, where the tax certificates from each of the participating counties shall be offered for sale at public auction. Before the regional sale, each county treasurer shall advertise the sale for the parcels in the treasurer's county as required by division (C) of this section. At the regional sale, tax certificates shall be sold on parcels from one county at a time, with all of the certificates for one county offered for sale before any certificates for the next county are offered for sale.

(G) The tax commissioner shall prescribe the form of the tax certificate under this section, and county treasurers shall use the form prescribed by the commissioner.

Sec. 5739.01.  As used in this chapter:

(A) "Person" includes individuals, receivers, assignees, trustees in bankruptcy, estates, firms, partnerships, associations, joint-stock companies, joint ventures, clubs, societies, corporations, the state and its political subdivisions, and combinations of individuals of any form.

(B) "Sale" and "selling" include all of the following transactions for a consideration in any manner, whether absolutely or conditionally, whether for a price or rental, in money or by exchange, and by any means whatsoever:

(1) All transactions by which title or possession, or both, of tangible personal property, is or is to be transferred, or a license to use or consume tangible personal property is or is to be granted;

(2) All transactions by which lodging by a hotel is or is to be furnished to transient guests;

(3) All transactions by which:

(a) An item of tangible personal property is or is to be repaired, except property, the purchase of which would not be subject to the tax imposed by section 5739.02 of the Revised Code;

(b) An item of tangible personal property is or is to be installed, except property, the purchase of which would not be subject to the tax imposed by section 5739.02 of the Revised Code or property that is or is to be incorporated into and will become a part of a production, transmission, transportation, or distribution system for the delivery of a public utility service;

(c) The service of washing, cleaning, waxing, polishing, or painting a motor vehicle is or is to be furnished;

(d) Industrial laundry cleaning services are or are to be provided;

(e) Automatic data processing, computer services, or electronic information services are or are to be provided for use in business when the true object of the transaction is the receipt by the consumer of automatic data processing, computer services, or electronic information services rather than the receipt of personal or professional services to which automatic data processing, computer services, or electronic information services are incidental or supplemental. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, such transactions that occur between members of an affiliated group are not sales. An affiliated group means two or more persons related in such a way that one person owns or controls the business operation of another member of the group. In the case of corporations with stock, one corporation owns or controls another if it owns more than fifty per cent of the other corporation's common stock with voting rights.

(f) Telecommunications service, other than mobile telecommunications service after July 31, 2002, is or is to be provided that originates or terminates in this state and is charged in the records of the telecommunications service vendor to the consumer's telephone number or account in this state, or that both originates and terminates in this state; but does not include transactions by which telecommunications service is paid for by using a prepaid authorization number or prepaid telephone calling card, or by which local telecommunications service is obtained from a coin-operated telephone and paid for by using coin;

(g) Landscaping and lawn care service is or is to be provided;

(h) Private investigation and security service is or is to be provided;

(i) Information services or tangible personal property is provided or ordered by means of a nine hundred telephone call;

(j) Building maintenance and janitorial service is or is to be provided;

(k) Employment service is or is to be provided;

(l) Employment placement service is or is to be provided;

(m) Exterminating service is or is to be provided;

(n) Physical fitness facility service is or is to be provided;

(o) Recreation and sports club service is or is to be provided.

(p) After July 31, 2002, mobile telecommunications service is or is to be provided in this state when that service is sitused to this state pursuant to the "Mobile Telecommunications Sourcing Act," P. Pub. L. No. 106-252, 114 Stat. 626 to 632 (2000), 4 U.S.C.A. 116 to 126, as amended.

(4) All transactions by which printed, imprinted, overprinted, lithographic, multilithic, blueprinted, photostatic, or other productions or reproductions of written or graphic matter are or are to be furnished or transferred;

(5) The production or fabrication of tangible personal property for a consideration for consumers who furnish either directly or indirectly the materials used in the production of fabrication work; and include the furnishing, preparing, or serving for a consideration of any tangible personal property consumed on the premises of the person furnishing, preparing, or serving such tangible personal property. Except as provided in section 5739.03 of the Revised Code, a construction contract pursuant to which tangible personal property is or is to be incorporated into a structure or improvement on and becoming a part of real property is not a sale of such tangible personal property. The construction contractor is the consumer of such tangible personal property, provided that the sale and installation of carpeting, the sale and installation of agricultural land tile, the sale and erection or installation of portable grain bins, or the provision of landscaping and lawn care service and the transfer of property as part of such service is never a construction contract. The transfer of copyrighted motion picture films for exhibition purposes is not a sale, except such films as are used solely for advertising purposes. Other than as provided in this section, "sale" and "selling" do not include transfers of interest in leased property where the original lessee and the terms of the original lease agreement remain unchanged, or professional, insurance, or personal service transactions that involve the transfer of tangible personal property as an inconsequential element, for which no separate charges are made.

As used in division (B)(5) of this section:

(a) "Agricultural land tile" means fired clay or concrete tile, or flexible or rigid perforated plastic pipe or tubing, incorporated or to be incorporated into a subsurface drainage system appurtenant to land used or to be used directly in production by farming, agriculture, horticulture, or floriculture. The term does not include such materials when they are or are to be incorporated into a drainage system appurtenant to a building or structure even if the building or structure is used or to be used in such production.

(b) "Portable grain bin" means a structure that is used or to be used by a person engaged in farming or agriculture to shelter the person's grain and that is designed to be disassembled without significant damage to its component parts.

(6) All transactions in which all of the shares of stock of a closely held corporation are transferred, if the corporation is not engaging in business and its entire assets consist of boats, planes, motor vehicles, or other tangible personal property operated primarily for the use and enjoyment of the shareholders;

(7) All transactions in which a warranty, maintenance or service contract, or similar agreement by which the vendor of the warranty, contract, or agreement agrees to repair or maintain the tangible personal property of the consumer is or is to be provided;

(8) All transactions by which a prepaid authorization number or a prepaid telephone calling card is or is to be transferred;

(9) The transfer of copyrighted motion picture films used solely for advertising purposes, except that the transfer of such films for exhibition purposes is not a sale.

Other than as provided in this section, "sale" and "selling" do not include transfers of interest in leased property where the original lessee and the terms of the original lease agreement remain unchanged; or professional, insurance, or personal service transactions that involve the transfer of tangible personal property as an inconsequential element, for which no separate charges are made.

(C) "Vendor" means the person providing the service or by whom the transfer effected or license given by a sale is or is to be made or given and, for sales described in division (B)(3)(i) of this section, the telecommunications service vendor that provides the nine hundred telephone service; if two or more persons are engaged in business at the same place of business under a single trade name in which all collections on account of sales by each are made, such persons shall constitute a single vendor.

Physicians, dentists, hospitals, and veterinarians who are engaged in selling tangible personal property as received from others, such as eyeglasses, mouthwashes, dentifrices, or similar articles, are vendors. Veterinarians who are engaged in transferring to others for a consideration drugs, the dispensing of which does not require an order of a licensed veterinarian or physician under federal law, are vendors.

(D)(1) "Consumer" means the person for whom the service is provided, to whom the transfer effected or license given by a sale is or is to be made or given, to whom the service described in division (B)(3)(f) or (i) of this section is charged, or to whom the admission is granted.

(2) Physicians, dentists, hospitals, and blood banks operated by nonprofit institutions and persons licensed to practice veterinary medicine, surgery, and dentistry are consumers of all tangible personal property and services purchased by them in connection with the practice of medicine, dentistry, the rendition of hospital or blood bank service, or the practice of veterinary medicine, surgery, and dentistry. In addition to being consumers of drugs administered by them or by their assistants according to their direction, veterinarians also are consumers of drugs that under federal law may be dispensed only by or upon the order of a licensed veterinarian or physician, when transferred by them to others for a consideration to provide treatment to animals as directed by the veterinarian.

(3) A person who performs a facility management, or similar service contract for a contractee is a consumer of all tangible personal property and services purchased for use in connection with the performance of such contract, regardless of whether title to any such property vests in the contractee. The purchase of such property and services is not subject to the exception for resale under division (E)(1) of this section.

(4)(a) In the case of a person who purchases printed matter for the purpose of distributing it or having it distributed to the public or to a designated segment of the public, free of charge, that person is the consumer of that printed matter, and the purchase of that printed matter for that purpose is a sale.

(b) In the case of a person who produces, rather than purchases, printed matter for the purpose of distributing it or having it distributed to the public or to a designated segment of the public, free of charge, that person is the consumer of all tangible personal property and services purchased for use or consumption in the production of that printed matter. That person is not entitled to claim exception under division (E)(8) of this section for any material incorporated into the printed matter or any equipment, supplies, or services primarily used to produce the printed matter.

(c) The distribution of printed matter to the public or to a designated segment of the public, free of charge, is not a sale to the members of the public to whom the printed matter is distributed or to any persons who purchase space in the printed matter for advertising or other purposes.

(5) A person who makes sales of any of the services listed in division (B)(3) of this section is the consumer of any tangible personal property used in performing the service. The purchase of that property is not subject to the resale exception under division (E)(1) of this section.

(6) A person who engages in highway transportation for hire is the consumer of all packaging materials purchased by that person and used in performing the service, except for packaging materials sold by such person in a transaction separate from the service.

(E) "Retail sale" and "sales at retail" include all sales except those in which the purpose of the consumer is:

(1) To resell the thing transferred or benefit of the service provided, by a person engaging in business, in the form in which the same is, or is to be, received by the person;

(2) To incorporate the thing transferred as a material or a part, into tangible personal property to be produced for sale by manufacturing, assembling, processing, or refining, or to use or consume the thing transferred directly in producing a product for sale by mining, including without limitation the extraction from the earth of all substances that are classed geologically as minerals, production of crude oil and natural gas, farming, agriculture, horticulture, or floriculture, and persons engaged in rendering farming, agricultural, horticultural, or floricultural services, and services in the exploration for, and production of, crude oil and natural gas, for others are deemed engaged directly in farming, agriculture, horticulture, and floriculture, or exploration for, and production of, crude oil and natural gas; directly in the rendition of a public utility service, except that the sales tax levied by section 5739.02 of the Revised Code shall be collected upon all meals, drinks, and food for human consumption sold upon Pullman and railroad coaches. This paragraph does not exempt or except from "retail sale" or "sales at retail" the sale of tangible personal property that is to be incorporated into a structure or improvement to real property.

(3) To hold the thing transferred as security for the performance of an obligation of the vendor;

(4) To use or consume the thing transferred in the process of reclamation as required by Chapters 1513. and 1514. of the Revised Code;

(5) To resell, hold, use, or consume the thing transferred as evidence of a contract of insurance;

(6) To use or consume the thing directly in commercial fishing;

(7) To incorporate the thing transferred as a material or a part into, or to use or consume the thing transferred directly in the production of, magazines distributed as controlled circulation publications;

(8) To use or consume the thing transferred in the production and preparation in suitable condition for market and sale of printed, imprinted, overprinted, lithographic, multilithic, blueprinted, photostatic, or other productions or reproductions of written or graphic matter;

(9) To use the thing transferred, as described in section 5739.011 of the Revised Code, primarily in a manufacturing operation to produce tangible personal property for sale;

(10) To use the benefit of a warranty, maintenance or service contract, or similar agreement, as defined in division (B)(7) of this section, to repair or maintain tangible personal property, if all of the property that is the subject of the warranty, contract, or agreement would be exempt on its purchase from the tax imposed by section 5739.02 of the Revised Code;

(11) To use the thing transferred as qualified research and development equipment;

(12) To use or consume the thing transferred primarily in storing, transporting, mailing, or otherwise handling purchased sales inventory in a warehouse, distribution center, or similar facility when the inventory is primarily distributed outside this state to retail stores of the person who owns or controls the warehouse, distribution center, or similar facility, to retail stores of an affiliated group of which that person is a member, or by means of direct marketing. Division (E)(12) of this section does not apply to motor vehicles registered for operation on the public highways. As used in division (E)(12) of this section, "affiliated group" has the same meaning as in division (B)(3)(e) of this section and "direct marketing" has the same meaning as in division (B)(36) of section 5739.02 of the Revised Code.

(13) To use or consume the thing transferred to fulfill a contractual obligation incurred by a warrantor pursuant to a warranty provided as a part of the price of the tangible personal property sold or by a vendor of a warranty, maintenance or service contract, or similar agreement the provision of which is defined as a sale under division (B)(7) of this section;

(14) To use or consume the thing transferred in the production of a newspaper for distribution to the public;

(15) To use tangible personal property to perform a service listed in division (B)(3) of this section, if the property is or is to be permanently transferred to the consumer of the service as an integral part of the performance of the service.

As used in division (E) of this section, "thing" includes all transactions included in divisions (B)(3)(a), (b), and (e) of this section.

Sales conducted through a coin-operated device that activates vacuum equipment or equipment that dispenses water, whether or not in combination with soap or other cleaning agents or wax, to the consumer for the consumer's use on the premises in washing, cleaning, or waxing a motor vehicle, provided no other personal property or personal service is provided as part of the transaction, are not retail sales or sales at retail.

(F) "Business" includes any activity engaged in by any person with the object of gain, benefit, or advantage, either direct or indirect. "Business" does not include the activity of a person in managing and investing the person's own funds.

(G) "Engaging in business" means commencing, conducting, or continuing in business, and liquidating a business when the liquidator thereof holds itself out to the public as conducting such business. Making a casual sale is not engaging in business.

(H)(1) "Price," except as provided in divisions (H)(2) and (3) of this section, means the aggregate value in money of anything paid or delivered, or promised to be paid or delivered, in the complete performance of a retail sale, without any deduction on account of the cost of the property sold, cost of materials used, labor or service cost, interest, discount paid or allowed after the sale is consummated, or any other expense. If the retail sale consists of the rental or lease of tangible personal property, "price" means the aggregate value in money of anything paid or delivered, or promised to be paid or delivered, in the complete performance of the rental or lease, without any deduction for tax, interest, labor or service charge, damage liability waiver, termination or damage charge, discount paid or allowed after the lease is consummated, or any other expense. Except as provided in division (H)(4) of this section, the sales tax shall be calculated and collected by the lessor on each payment made by the lessee. "Price" does not include the consideration received as a deposit refundable to the consumer upon return of a beverage container, the consideration received as a deposit on a carton or case that is used for such returnable containers, or the consideration received as a refundable security deposit for the use of tangible personal property to the extent that it actually is refunded, if the consideration for such refundable deposit is separately stated from the consideration received or to be received for the tangible personal property transferred in the retail sale. Such separation must appear in the sales agreement or on the initial invoice or initial billing rendered by the vendor to the consumer. "Price" also does not include delivery charges that are separately stated on the initial invoice or initial billing rendered by the vendor. Price is the amount received inclusive of the tax, provided the vendor establishes to the satisfaction of the tax commissioner that the tax was added to the price. When the price includes both a charge for tangible personal property and a charge for providing a service and the sale of the property and the charge for the service are separately taxable, or have a separately determinable tax status, the price shall be separately stated for each such charge so the tax can be correctly computed and charged.

The tax collected by the vendor from the consumer under this chapter is not part of the price, but is a tax collection for the benefit of the state and of counties levying an additional sales tax pursuant to section 5739.021 or 5739.026 of the Revised Code and of transit authorities levying an additional sales tax pursuant to section 5739.023 of the Revised Code. Except for the discount authorized in section 5739.12 of the Revised Code and the effects of any rounding pursuant to section 5703.055 of the Revised Code, no person other than the state or such a county or transit authority shall derive any benefit from the collection or payment of such tax.

As used in division (H)(1) of this section, "delivery charges" means charges by the vendor for preparation and delivery to a location designated by the consumer of tangible personal property or a service, including transportation, shipping, postage, handling, crating, and packing.

(2) In the case of a sale of any new motor vehicle by a new motor vehicle dealer, as defined in section 4517.01 of the Revised Code, in which another motor vehicle is accepted by the dealer as part of the consideration received, "price" has the same meaning as in division (H)(1) of this section, reduced by the credit afforded the consumer by the dealer for the motor vehicle received in trade.

(3) In the case of a sale of any watercraft or outboard motor by a watercraft dealer licensed in accordance with section 1547.543 of the Revised Code, in which another watercraft, watercraft and trailer, or outboard motor is accepted by the dealer as part of the consideration received, "price" has the same meaning as in division (H)(1) of this section, reduced by the credit afforded the consumer by the dealer for the watercraft, watercraft and trailer, or outboard motor received in trade.

(4) In the case of the lease of any motor vehicle designed by the manufacturer to carry a load of not more than one ton, watercraft, outboard motor, or aircraft, or the lease of any tangible personal property, other than motor vehicles designed by the manufacturer to carry a load of more than one ton, to be used by the lessee primarily for business purposes, the sales tax shall be collected by the vendor at the time the lease is consummated and shall be calculated by the vendor on the basis of the total amount to be paid by the lessee under the lease agreement. If the total amount of the consideration for the lease includes amounts that are not calculated at the time the lease is executed, the tax shall be calculated and collected by the vendor at the time such amounts are billed to the lessee. In the case of an open-end lease, the sales tax shall be calculated by the vendor on the basis of the total amount to be paid during the initial fixed term of the lease, and then for each subsequent renewal period as it comes due.

As used in divisions (H)(3) and (4) of this section, "motor vehicle" has the same meaning as in section 4501.01 of the Revised Code, and "watercraft" includes an outdrive unit attached to the watercraft.

(I) "Receipts" means the total amount of the prices of the sales of vendors, provided that cash discounts allowed and taken on sales at the time they are consummated are not included, minus any amount deducted as a bad debt pursuant to section 5739.121 of the Revised Code. "Receipts" does not include the sale price of property returned or services rejected by consumers when the full sale price and tax are refunded either in cash or by credit.

(J) "Place of business" means any location at which a person engages in business.

(K) "Premises" includes any real property or portion thereof upon which any person engages in selling tangible personal property at retail or making retail sales and also includes any real property or portion thereof designated for, or devoted to, use in conjunction with the business engaged in by such person.

(L) "Casual sale" means a sale of an item of tangible personal property that was obtained by the person making the sale, through purchase or otherwise, for the person's own use and was previously subject to any state's taxing jurisdiction on its sale or use, and includes such items acquired for the seller's use that are sold by an auctioneer employed directly by the person for such purpose, provided the location of such sales is not the auctioneer's permanent place of business. As used in this division, "permanent place of business" includes any location where such auctioneer has conducted more than two auctions during the year.

(M) "Hotel" means every establishment kept, used, maintained, advertised, or held out to the public to be a place where sleeping accommodations are offered to guests, in which five or more rooms are used for the accommodation of such guests, whether the rooms are in one or several structures.

(N) "Transient guests" means persons occupying a room or rooms for sleeping accommodations for less than thirty consecutive days.

(O) "Making retail sales" means the effecting of transactions wherein one party is obligated to pay the price and the other party is obligated to provide a service or to transfer title to or possession of the item sold. "Making retail sales" does not include the preliminary acts of promoting or soliciting the retail sales, other than the distribution of printed matter which displays or describes and prices the item offered for sale, nor does it include delivery of a predetermined quantity of tangible personal property or transportation of property or personnel to or from a place where a service is performed, regardless of whether the vendor is a delivery vendor.

(P) "Used directly in the rendition of a public utility service" means that property which is to be incorporated into and will become a part of the consumer's production, transmission, transportation, or distribution system and that retains its classification as tangible personal property after such incorporation; fuel or power used in the production, transmission, transportation, or distribution system; and tangible personal property used in the repair and maintenance of the production, transmission, transportation, or distribution system, including only such motor vehicles as are specially designed and equipped for such use. Tangible personal property and services used primarily in providing highway transportation for hire are not used in providing a public utility service as defined in this division.

(Q) "Refining" means removing or separating a desirable product from raw or contaminated materials by distillation or physical, mechanical, or chemical processes.

(R) "Assembly" and "assembling" mean attaching or fitting together parts to form a product, but do not include packaging a product.

(S) "Manufacturing operation" means a process in which materials are changed, converted, or transformed into a different state or form from which they previously existed and includes refining materials, assembling parts, and preparing raw materials and parts by mixing, measuring, blending, or otherwise committing such materials or parts to the manufacturing process. "Manufacturing operation" does not include packaging.

(T) "Fiscal officer" means, with respect to a regional transit authority, the secretary-treasurer thereof, and with respect to a county that is a transit authority, the fiscal officer of the county transit board if one is appointed pursuant to section 306.03 of the Revised Code or the county auditor if the board of county commissioners operates the county transit system.

(U) "Transit authority" means a regional transit authority created pursuant to section 306.31 of the Revised Code or a county in which a county transit system is created pursuant to section 306.01 of the Revised Code. For the purposes of this chapter, a transit authority must extend to at least the entire area of a single county. A transit authority that includes territory in more than one county must include all the area of the most populous county that is a part of such transit authority. County population shall be measured by the most recent census taken by the United States census bureau.

(V) "Legislative authority" means, with respect to a regional transit authority, the board of trustees thereof, and with respect to a county that is a transit authority, the board of county commissioners.

(W) "Territory of the transit authority" means all of the area included within the territorial boundaries of a transit authority as they from time to time exist. Such territorial boundaries must at all times include all the area of a single county or all the area of the most populous county that is a part of such transit authority. County population shall be measured by the most recent census taken by the United States census bureau.

(X) "Providing a service" means providing or furnishing anything described in division (B)(3) of this section for consideration.

(Y)(1)(a) "Automatic data processing" means processing of others' data, including keypunching or similar data entry services together with verification thereof, or providing access to computer equipment for the purpose of processing data.

(b) "Computer services" means providing services consisting of specifying computer hardware configurations and evaluating technical processing characteristics, computer programming, and training of computer programmers and operators, provided in conjunction with and to support the sale, lease, or operation of taxable computer equipment or systems.

(c) "Electronic information services" means providing access to computer equipment by means of telecommunications equipment for the purpose of either of the following:

(i) Examining or acquiring data stored in or accessible to the computer equipment;

(ii) Placing data into the computer equipment to be retrieved by designated recipients with access to the computer equipment.

(d) "Automatic data processing, computer services, or electronic information services" shall not include personal or professional services.

(2) As used in divisions (B)(3)(e) and (Y)(1) of this section, "personal and professional services" means all services other than automatic data processing, computer services, or electronic information services, including but not limited to:

(a) Accounting and legal services such as advice on tax matters, asset management, budgetary matters, quality control, information security, and auditing and any other situation where the service provider receives data or information and studies, alters, analyzes, interprets, or adjusts such material;

(b) Analyzing business policies and procedures;

(c) Identifying management information needs;

(d) Feasibility studies, including economic and technical analysis of existing or potential computer hardware or software needs and alternatives;

(e) Designing policies, procedures, and custom software for collecting business information, and determining how data should be summarized, sequenced, formatted, processed, controlled, and reported so that it will be meaningful to management;

(f) Developing policies and procedures that document how business events and transactions are to be authorized, executed, and controlled;

(g) Testing of business procedures;

(h) Training personnel in business procedure applications;

(i) Providing credit information to users of such information by a consumer reporting agency, as defined in the "Fair Credit Reporting Act," 84 Stat. 1114, 1129 (1970), 15 U.S.C. 1681a(f), or as hereafter amended, including but not limited to gathering, organizing, analyzing, recording, and furnishing such information by any oral, written, graphic, or electronic medium;

(j) Providing debt collection services by any oral, written, graphic, or electronic means.

The services listed in divisions (Y)(2)(a) to (j) of this section are not automatic data processing or computer services.

(Z) "Highway transportation for hire" means the transportation of personal property belonging to others for consideration by any of the following:

(1) The holder of a permit or certificate issued by this state or the United States authorizing the holder to engage in transportation of personal property belonging to others for consideration over or on highways, roadways, streets, or any similar public thoroughfare;

(2) A person who engages in the transportation of personal property belonging to others for consideration over or on highways, roadways, streets, or any similar public thoroughfare but who could not have engaged in such transportation on December 11, 1985, unless the person was the holder of a permit or certificate of the types described in division (Z)(1) of this section;

(3) A person who leases a motor vehicle to and operates it for a person described by division (Z)(1) or (2) of this section.

(AA) "Telecommunications service" means the transmission of any interactive, two-way electromagnetic communications, including voice, image, data, and information, through the use of any medium such as wires, cables, microwaves, cellular radio, radio waves, light waves, or any combination of those or similar media. "Telecommunications service" includes message toll service even though the vendor provides the message toll service by means of wide area transmission type service or private communications service purchased from another telecommunications service provider, but does not include any of the following:

(1) Sales of incoming or outgoing wide area transmission service or wide area transmission type service, including eight hundred or eight-hundred-type service, to the person contracting for the receipt of that service;

(2) Sales of private communications service to the person contracting for the receipt of that service that entitles the purchaser to exclusive or priority use of a communications channel or group of channels between exchanges;

(3) Sales of telecommunications service by companies subject to the excise tax imposed by Chapter 5727. of the Revised Code;

(4) Sales of telecommunications service to a provider of telecommunications service, including access services, for use in providing telecommunications service;

(5) Value-added nonvoice services in which computer processing applications are used to act on the form, content, code, or protocol of the information to be transmitted;

(6) Transmission of interactive video programming by a cable television system as defined in section 505.90 of the Revised Code;

(7) After July 31, 2002, mobile telecommunications service.

(BB) "Industrial laundry cleaning services" means removing soil or dirt from or supplying towels, linens, or articles of clothing that belong to others and are used in a trade or business.

(CC) "Magazines distributed as controlled circulation publications" means magazines containing at least twenty-four pages, at least twenty-five per cent editorial content, issued at regular intervals four or more times a year, and circulated without charge to the recipient, provided that such magazines are not owned or controlled by individuals or business concerns which conduct such publications as an auxiliary to, and essentially for the advancement of the main business or calling of, those who own or control them.

(DD) "Landscaping and lawn care service" means the services of planting, seeding, sodding, removing, cutting, trimming, pruning, mulching, aerating, applying chemicals, watering, fertilizing, and providing similar services to establish, promote, or control the growth of trees, shrubs, flowers, grass, ground cover, and other flora, or otherwise maintaining a lawn or landscape grown or maintained by the owner for ornamentation or other nonagricultural purpose. However, "landscaping and lawn care service" does not include the providing of such services by a person who has less than five thousand dollars in sales of such services during the calendar year.

(EE) "Private investigation and security service" means the performance of any activity for which the provider of such service is required to be licensed pursuant to Chapter 4749. of the Revised Code, or would be required to be so licensed in performing such services in this state, and also includes the services of conducting polygraph examinations and of monitoring or overseeing the activities on or in, or the condition of, the consumer's home, business, or other facility by means of electronic or similar monitoring devices. "Private investigation and security service" does not include special duty services provided by off-duty police officers, deputy sheriffs, and other peace officers regularly employed by the state or a political subdivision.

(FF) "Information services" means providing conversation, giving consultation or advice, playing or making a voice or other recording, making or keeping a record of the number of callers, and any other service provided to a consumer by means of a nine hundred telephone call, except when the nine hundred telephone call is the means by which the consumer makes a contribution to a recognized charity.

(GG) "Research and development" means designing, creating, or formulating new or enhanced products, equipment, or manufacturing processes, and also means conducting scientific or technological inquiry and experimentation in the physical sciences with the goal of increasing scientific knowledge which may reveal the bases for new or enhanced products, equipment, or manufacturing processes.

(HH) "Qualified research and development equipment" means capitalized tangible personal property, and leased personal property that would be capitalized if purchased, used by a person primarily to perform research and development. Tangible personal property primarily used in testing, as defined in division (A)(4) of section 5739.011 of the Revised Code, or used for recording or storing test results, is not qualified research and development equipment unless such property is primarily used by the consumer in testing the product, equipment, or manufacturing process being created, designed, or formulated by the consumer in the research and development activity or in recording or storing such test results.

(II) "Building maintenance and janitorial service" means cleaning the interior or exterior of a building and any tangible personal property located therein or thereon, including any services incidental to such cleaning for which no separate charge is made. However, "building maintenance and janitorial service" does not include the providing of such service by a person who has less than five thousand dollars in sales of such service during the calendar year.

(JJ) "Employment service" means providing or supplying personnel, on a temporary or long-term basis, to perform work or labor under the supervision or control of another, when the personnel so supplied receive their wages, salary, or other compensation from the provider of the service. "Employment service" does not include:

(1) Acting as a contractor or subcontractor, where the personnel performing the work are not under the direct control of the purchaser.

(2) Medical and health care services.

(3) Supplying personnel to a purchaser pursuant to a contract of at least one year between the service provider and the purchaser that specifies that each employee covered under the contract is assigned to the purchaser on a permanent basis.

(4) Transactions between members of an affiliated group, as defined in division (B)(3)(e) of this section.

(KK) "Employment placement service" means locating or finding employment for a person or finding or locating an employee to fill an available position.

(LL) "Exterminating service" means eradicating or attempting to eradicate vermin infestations from a building or structure, or the area surrounding a building or structure, and includes activities to inspect, detect, or prevent vermin infestation of a building or structure.

(MM) "Physical fitness facility service" means all transactions by which a membership is granted, maintained, or renewed, including initiation fees, membership dues, renewal fees, monthly minimum fees, and other similar fees and dues, by a physical fitness facility such as an athletic club, health spa, or gymnasium, which entitles the member to use the facility for physical exercise.

(NN) "Recreation and sports club service" means all transactions by which a membership is granted, maintained, or renewed, including initiation fees, membership dues, renewal fees, monthly minimum fees, and other similar fees and dues, by a recreation and sports club, which entitles the member to use the facilities of the organization. "Recreation and sports club" means an organization that has ownership of, or controls or leases on a continuing, long-term basis, the facilities used by its members and includes an aviation club, gun or shooting club, yacht club, card club, swimming club, tennis club, golf club, country club, riding club, amateur sports club, or similar organization.

(OO) "Livestock" means farm animals commonly raised for food or food production, and includes but is not limited to cattle, sheep, goats, swine, and poultry. "Livestock" does not include invertebrates, fish, amphibians, reptiles, horses, domestic pets, animals for use in laboratories or for exhibition, or other animals not commonly raised for food or food production.

(PP) "Livestock structure" means a building or structure used exclusively for the housing, raising, feeding, or sheltering of livestock, and includes feed storage or handling structures and structures for livestock waste handling.

(QQ) "Horticulture" means the growing, cultivation, and production of flowers, fruits, herbs, vegetables, sod, mushrooms, and nursery stock. As used in this division, "nursery stock" has the same meaning as in section 927.51 of the Revised Code.

(RR) "Horticulture structure" means a building or structure used exclusively for the commercial growing, raising, or overwintering of horticultural products, and includes the area used for stocking, storing, and packing horticultural products when done in conjunction with the production of those products.

(SS) "Newspaper" means an unbound publication bearing a title or name that is regularly published, at least as frequently as biweekly, and distributed from a fixed place of business to the public in a specific geographic area, and that contains a substantial amount of news matter of international, national, or local events of interest to the general public.

(TT) "Professional racing team" means a person that employs at least twenty full-time employees for the purpose of conducting a motor vehicle racing business for profit. The person must conduct the business with the purpose of racing one or more motor racing vehicles in at least ten competitive professional racing events each year that comprise all or part of a motor racing series sanctioned by one or more motor racing sanctioning organizations. A "motor racing vehicle" means a vehicle for which the chassis, engine, and parts are designed exclusively for motor racing, and does not include a stock or production model vehicle that may be modified for use in racing. For the purposes of this division:

(1) A "competitive professional racing event" is a motor vehicle racing event sanctioned by one or more motor racing sanctioning organizations, at which aggregate cash prizes in excess of eight hundred thousand dollars are awarded to the competitors.

(2) "Full-time employee" means an individual who is employed for consideration for thirty-five or more hours a week, or who renders any other standard of service generally accepted by custom or specified by contract as full-time employment.

(UU)(1) "Prepaid authorization number" means a numeric or alphanumeric combination that represents a prepaid account that can be used by the account holder solely to obtain telecommunications service, and includes any renewals or increases in the prepaid account.

(2) "Prepaid telephone calling card" means a tangible item that contains a prepaid authorization number that can be used solely to obtain telecommunications service, and includes any renewals or increases in the prepaid account.

(VV) "Lease" means any transfer for a consideration of the possession of and right to use, but not title to, tangible personal property for a fixed period of time greater than thirty days or for an open-ended period of time with a minimum fixed period of more than thirty days.

(WW) "Mobile telecommunications service" has the same meaning as in the "Mobile Telecommunications Sourcing Act," Pub. L. No. 106-252, 114 Stat. 631 (2000), 4 U.S.C.A. 124(7), as amended.

(XX) "Certified service provider" has the same meaning as in section 5740.01 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 5739.02.  For the purpose of providing revenue with which to meet the needs of the state, for the use of the general revenue fund of the state, for the purpose of securing a thorough and efficient system of common schools throughout the state, for the purpose of affording revenues, in addition to those from general property taxes, permitted under constitutional limitations, and from other sources, for the support of local governmental functions, and for the purpose of reimbursing the state for the expense of administering this chapter, an excise tax is hereby levied on each retail sale made in this state.

(A) The tax shall be collected pursuant to the schedules in section 5739.025 of the Revised Code.

The tax applies and is collectible when the sale is made, regardless of the time when the price is paid or delivered.

In the case of a sale, the price of which consists in whole or in part of rentals for the use of the thing transferred, the tax, as regards those rentals, shall be measured by the installments of those rentals.

In the case of a sale of a service defined under division (MM) or (NN) of section 5739.01 of the Revised Code, the price of which consists in whole or in part of a membership for the receipt of the benefit of the service, the tax applicable to the sale shall be measured by the installments thereof.

(B) The tax does not apply to the following:

(1) Sales to the state or any of its political subdivisions, or to any other state or its political subdivisions if the laws of that state exempt from taxation sales made to this state and its political subdivisions;

(2) Sales of food for human consumption off the premises where sold;

(3) Sales of food sold to students only in a cafeteria, dormitory, fraternity, or sorority maintained in a private, public, or parochial school, college, or university;

(4) Sales of newspapers and of magazine subscriptions and sales or transfers of magazines distributed as controlled circulation publications;

(5) The furnishing, preparing, or serving of meals without charge by an employer to an employee provided the employer records the meals as part compensation for services performed or work done;

(6) Sales of motor fuel upon receipt, use, distribution, or sale of which in this state a tax is imposed by the law of this state, but this exemption shall not apply to the sale of motor fuel on which a refund of the tax is allowable under section 5735.14 of the Revised Code; and the tax commissioner may deduct the amount of tax levied by this section applicable to the price of motor fuel when granting a refund of motor fuel tax pursuant to section 5735.14 of the Revised Code and shall cause the amount deducted to be paid into the general revenue fund of this state;

(7) Sales of natural gas by a natural gas company, of water by a water-works company, or of steam by a heating company, if in each case the thing sold is delivered to consumers through pipes or conduits, and all sales of communications services by a telephone or telegraph company, all terms as defined in section 5727.01 of the Revised Code;

(8) Casual sales by a person, or auctioneer employed directly by the person to conduct such sales, except as to such sales of motor vehicles, watercraft or outboard motors required to be titled under section 1548.06 of the Revised Code, watercraft documented with the United States coast guard, snowmobiles, and all-purpose vehicles as defined in section 4519.01 of the Revised Code;

(9) Sales of services or tangible personal property, other than motor vehicles, mobile homes, and manufactured homes, by churches, organizations exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or nonprofit organizations operated exclusively for charitable purposes as defined in division (B)(12) of this section, provided that the number of days on which such tangible personal property or services, other than items never subject to the tax, are sold does not exceed six in any calendar year. If the number of days on which such sales are made exceeds six in any calendar year, the church or organization shall be considered to be engaged in business and all subsequent sales by it shall be subject to the tax. In counting the number of days, all sales by groups within a church or within an organization shall be considered to be sales of that church or organization, except that sales made by separate student clubs and other groups of students of a primary or secondary school, and sales made by a parent-teacher association, booster group, or similar organization that raises money to support or fund curricular or extracurricular activities of a primary or secondary school, shall not be considered to be sales of such school, and sales by each such club, group, association, or organization shall be counted separately for purposes of the six-day limitation. This division does not apply to sales by a noncommercial educational radio or television broadcasting station.

(10) Sales not within the taxing power of this state under the Constitution of the United States;

(11) The transportation of persons or property, unless the transportation is by a private investigation and security service;

(12) Sales of tangible personal property or services to churches, to organizations exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and to any other nonprofit organizations operated exclusively for charitable purposes in this state, no part of the net income of which inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual, and no substantial part of the activities of which consists of carrying on propaganda or otherwise attempting to influence legislation; sales to offices administering one or more homes for the aged or one or more hospital facilities exempt under section 140.08 of the Revised Code; and sales to organizations described in division (D) of section 5709.12 of the Revised Code.

"Charitable purposes" means the relief of poverty; the improvement of health through the alleviation of illness, disease, or injury; the operation of an organization exclusively for the provision of professional, laundry, printing, and purchasing services to hospitals or charitable institutions; the operation of a home for the aged, as defined in section 5701.13 of the Revised Code; the operation of a radio or television broadcasting station that is licensed by the federal communications commission as a noncommercial educational radio or television station; the operation of a nonprofit animal adoption service or a county humane society; the promotion of education by an institution of learning that maintains a faculty of qualified instructors, teaches regular continuous courses of study, and confers a recognized diploma upon completion of a specific curriculum; the operation of a parent-teacher association, booster group, or similar organization primarily engaged in the promotion and support of the curricular or extracurricular activities of a primary or secondary school; the operation of a community or area center in which presentations in music, dramatics, the arts, and related fields are made in order to foster public interest and education therein; the production of performances in music, dramatics, and the arts; or the promotion of education by an organization engaged in carrying on research in, or the dissemination of, scientific and technological knowledge and information primarily for the public.

Nothing in this division shall be deemed to exempt sales to any organization for use in the operation or carrying on of a trade or business, or sales to a home for the aged for use in the operation of independent living facilities as defined in division (A) of section 5709.12 of the Revised Code.

(13) Building and construction materials and services sold to construction contractors for incorporation into a structure or improvement to real property under a construction contract with this state or a political subdivision of this state, or with the United States government or any of its agencies; building and construction materials and services sold to construction contractors for incorporation into a structure or improvement to real property that are accepted for ownership by this state or any of its political subdivisions, or by the United States government or any of its agencies at the time of completion of the structures or improvements; building and construction materials sold to construction contractors for incorporation into a horticulture structure or livestock structure for a person engaged in the business of horticulture or producing livestock; building materials and services sold to a construction contractor for incorporation into a house of public worship or religious education, or a building used exclusively for charitable purposes under a construction contract with an organization whose purpose is as described in division (B)(12) of this section; building materials and services sold to a construction contractor for incorporation into a building under a construction contract with an organization exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 when the building is to be used exclusively for the organization's exempt purposes; building and construction materials sold for incorporation into the original construction of a sports facility under section 307.696 of the Revised Code; and building and construction materials and services sold to a construction contractor for incorporation into real property outside this state if such materials and services, when sold to a construction contractor in the state in which the real property is located for incorporation into real property in that state, would be exempt from a tax on sales levied by that state;

(14) Sales of ships or vessels or rail rolling stock used or to be used principally in interstate or foreign commerce, and repairs, alterations, fuel, and lubricants for such ships or vessels or rail rolling stock;

(15) Sales to persons primarily engaged in any of the activities mentioned in division (E)(2) or (9) of section 5739.01 of the Revised Code, to persons engaged in making retail sales, or to persons who purchase for sale from a manufacturer tangible personal property that was produced by the manufacturer in accordance with specific designs provided by the purchaser, of packages, including material, labels, and parts for packages, and of machinery, equipment, and material for use primarily in packaging tangible personal property produced for sale, including any machinery, equipment, and supplies used to make labels or packages, to prepare packages or products for labeling, or to label packages or products, by or on the order of the person doing the packaging, or sold at retail. "Packages" includes bags, baskets, cartons, crates, boxes, cans, bottles, bindings, wrappings, and other similar devices and containers, and "packaging" but does not include motor vehicles or bulk tanks, trailers, or similar devices attached to motor vehicles. "Packaging" means placing therein in a package. Division (B)(14) of this section does not apply to persons engaged in highway transportation for hire.

(16) Sales of food to persons using food stamp benefits to purchase the food. As used in division (B)(16) of this section, "food" has the same meaning as in the "Food Stamp Act of 1977," 91 Stat. 958, 7 U.S.C. 2012, as amended, and federal regulations adopted pursuant to that act.

(17) Sales to persons engaged in farming, agriculture, horticulture, or floriculture, of tangible personal property for use or consumption directly in the production by farming, agriculture, horticulture, or floriculture of other tangible personal property for use or consumption directly in the production of tangible personal property for sale by farming, agriculture, horticulture, or floriculture; or material and parts for incorporation into any such tangible personal property for use or consumption in production; and of tangible personal property for such use or consumption in the conditioning or holding of products produced by and for such use, consumption, or sale by persons engaged in farming, agriculture, horticulture, or floriculture, except where such property is incorporated into real property;

(18) Sales of drugs dispensed by a licensed pharmacist upon the order of a licensed health professional authorized to prescribe drugs to a human being, as the term "licensed health professional authorized to prescribe drugs" is defined in section 4729.01 of the Revised Code; insulin as recognized in the official United States pharmacopoeia; urine and blood testing materials when used by diabetics or persons with hypoglycemia to test for glucose or acetone; hypodermic syringes and needles when used by diabetics for insulin injections; epoetin alfa when purchased for use in the treatment of persons with end-stage renal disease; hospital beds when purchased for use by persons with medical problems for medical purposes; and oxygen and oxygen-dispensing equipment when purchased for use by persons with medical problems for medical purposes;

(19)(a) Sales of artificial limbs or portion thereof, breast prostheses, and other prosthetic devices for humans; braces or other devices for supporting weakened or nonfunctioning parts of the human body; crutches or other devices to aid human perambulation; and items of tangible personal property used to supplement impaired functions of the human body such as respiration, hearing, or elimination;

(b) Sales of wheelchairs; items incorporated into or used in conjunction with a motor vehicle for the purpose of transporting wheelchairs, other than transportation conducted in connection with the sale or delivery of wheelchairs; and items incorporated into or used in conjunction with a motor vehicle that are specifically designed to assist a person with a disability to access or operate the motor vehicle. As used in this division, "person with a disability" means any person who has lost the use of one or both legs or one or both arms, who is blind, deaf, or disabled to the extent that the person is unable to move about without the aid of crutches or a wheelchair, or whose mobility is restricted by a permanent cardiovascular, pulmonary, or other disabling condition.

(c) No exemption under this division shall be allowed for nonprescription drugs, medicines, or remedies; items or devices used to supplement vision; items or devices whose function is solely or primarily cosmetic; or physical fitness equipment. This division does not apply to sales to a physician or medical facility for use in the treatment of a patient.

(20) Sales of emergency and fire protection vehicles and equipment to nonprofit organizations for use solely in providing fire protection and emergency services, including trauma care and emergency medical services, for political subdivisions of the state;

(21) Sales of tangible personal property manufactured in this state, if sold by the manufacturer in this state to a retailer for use in the retail business of the retailer outside of this state and if possession is taken from the manufacturer by the purchaser within this state for the sole purpose of immediately removing the same from this state in a vehicle owned by the purchaser;

(22) Sales of services provided by the state or any of its political subdivisions, agencies, instrumentalities, institutions, or authorities, or by governmental entities of the state or any of its political subdivisions, agencies, instrumentalities, institutions, or authorities;

(23) Sales of motor vehicles to nonresidents of this state upon the presentation of an affidavit executed in this state by the nonresident purchaser affirming that the purchaser is a nonresident of this state, that possession of the motor vehicle is taken in this state for the sole purpose of immediately removing it from this state, that the motor vehicle will be permanently titled and registered in another state, and that the motor vehicle will not be used in this state;

(24) Sales to persons engaged in the preparation of eggs for sale of tangible personal property used or consumed directly in such preparation, including such tangible personal property used for cleaning, sanitizing, preserving, grading, sorting, and classifying by size; packages, including material and parts for packages, and machinery, equipment, and material for use in packaging eggs for sale; and handling and transportation equipment and parts therefor, except motor vehicles licensed to operate on public highways, used in intraplant or interplant transfers or shipment of eggs in the process of preparation for sale, when the plant or plants within or between which such transfers or shipments occur are operated by the same person. "Packages" includes containers, cases, baskets, flats, fillers, filler flats, cartons, closure materials, labels, and labeling materials, and "packaging" means placing therein.

(25)(a) Sales of water to a consumer for residential use, except the sale of bottled water, distilled water, mineral water, carbonated water, or ice;

(b) Sales of water by a nonprofit corporation engaged exclusively in the treatment, distribution, and sale of water to consumers, if such water is delivered to consumers through pipes or tubing.

(26) Fees charged for inspection or reinspection of motor vehicles under section 3704.14 of the Revised Code;

(27) Sales to persons licensed to conduct a food service operation pursuant to section 3717.43 of the Revised Code, of tangible personal property primarily used directly for the following:

(a) To prepare food for human consumption for sale;

(b) To preserve food that has been or will be prepared for human consumption for sale by the food service operator, not including tangible personal property used to display food for selection by the consumer;

(c) To clean tangible personal property used to prepare or serve food for human consumption for sale.

(28) Sales of animals by nonprofit animal adoption services or county humane societies;

(29) Sales of services to a corporation described in division (A) of section 5709.72 of the Revised Code, and sales of tangible personal property that qualifies for exemption from taxation under section 5709.72 of the Revised Code;

(30) Sales and installation of agricultural land tile, as defined in division (B)(5)(a) of section 5739.01 of the Revised Code;

(31) Sales and erection or installation of portable grain bins, as defined in division (B)(5)(b) of section 5739.01 of the Revised Code;

(32) The sale, lease, repair, and maintenance of, parts for, or items attached to or incorporated in, motor vehicles that are primarily used for transporting tangible personal property belonging to others by a person engaged in highway transportation for hire, except for packages and packaging used for the transportation of tangible personal property;

(33) Sales to the state headquarters of any veterans' organization in this state that is either incorporated and issued a charter by the congress of the United States or is recognized by the United States veterans administration, for use by the headquarters;

(34) Sales to a telecommunications service vendor of tangible personal property and services used directly and primarily in transmitting, receiving, switching, or recording any interactive, two-way electromagnetic communications, including voice, image, data, and information, through the use of any medium, including, but not limited to, poles, wires, cables, switching equipment, computers, and record storage devices and media, and component parts for the tangible personal property. The exemption provided in division (B)(34) of this section shall be in lieu of all other exceptions under division (E)(2) of section 5739.01 of the Revised Code to which a telecommunications service vendor may otherwise be entitled based upon the use of the thing purchased in providing the telecommunications service.

(35) Sales of investment metal bullion and investment coins. "Investment metal bullion" means any elementary precious metal that has been put through a process of smelting or refining, including, but not limited to, gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, and which is in such state or condition that its value depends upon its content and not upon its form. "Investment metal bullion" does not include fabricated precious metal that has been processed or manufactured for one or more specific and customary industrial, professional, or artistic uses. "Investment coins" means numismatic coins or other forms of money and legal tender manufactured of gold, silver, platinum, palladium, or other metal under the laws of the United States or any foreign nation with a fair market value greater than any statutory or nominal value of such coins.

(36)(a) Sales where the purpose of the consumer is to use or consume the things transferred in making retail sales and consisting of newspaper inserts, catalogues, coupons, flyers, gift certificates, or other advertising material that prices and describes tangible personal property offered for retail sale.

(b) Sales to direct marketing vendors of preliminary materials such as photographs, artwork, and typesetting that will be used in printing advertising material; of printed matter that offers free merchandise or chances to win sweepstake prizes and that is mailed to potential customers with advertising material described in division (B)(36)(a) of this section; and of equipment such as telephones, computers, facsimile machines, and similar tangible personal property primarily used to accept orders for direct marketing retail sales.

(c) Sales of automatic food vending machines that preserve food with a shelf life of forty-five days or less by refrigeration and dispense it to the consumer.

For purposes of division (B)(36) of this section, "direct marketing" means the method of selling where consumers order tangible personal property by United States mail, delivery service, or telecommunication and the vendor delivers or ships the tangible personal property sold to the consumer from a warehouse, catalogue distribution center, or similar fulfillment facility by means of the United States mail, delivery service, or common carrier.

(37) Sales to a person engaged in the business of horticulture or producing livestock of materials to be incorporated into a horticulture structure or livestock structure;

(38) The sale of a motor vehicle that is used exclusively for a vanpool ridesharing arrangement to persons participating in the vanpool ridesharing arrangement when the vendor is selling the vehicle pursuant to a contract between the vendor and the department of transportation;

(39) Sales of personal computers, computer monitors, computer keyboards, modems, and other peripheral computer equipment to an individual who is licensed or certified to teach in an elementary or a secondary school in this state for use by that individual in preparation for teaching elementary or secondary school students;

(40) Sales to a professional racing team of any of the following:

(a) Motor racing vehicles;

(b) Repair services for motor racing vehicles;

(c) Items of property that are attached to or incorporated in motor racing vehicles, including engines, chassis, and all other components of the vehicles, and all spare, replacement, and rebuilt parts or components of the vehicles; except not including tires, consumable fluids, paint, and accessories consisting of instrumentation sensors and related items added to the vehicle to collect and transmit data by means of telemetry and other forms of communication.

(41) Sales of used manufactured homes and used mobile homes, as defined in section 5739.0210 of the Revised Code, made on or after January 1, 2000;

(42) Sales of tangible personal property and services to a provider of electricity used or consumed directly and primarily in generating, transmitting, or distributing electricity for use by others, including property that is or is to be incorporated into and will become a part of the consumer's production, transmission, or distribution system and that retains its classification as tangible personal property after incorporation; fuel or power used in the production, transmission, or distribution of electricity; and tangible personal property and services used in the repair and maintenance of the production, transmission, or distribution system, including only those motor vehicles as are specially designed and equipped for such use. The exemption provided in this division shall be in lieu of all other exceptions in division (E)(2) of section 5739.01 of the Revised Code to which a provider of electricity may otherwise be entitled based on the use of the tangible personal property or service purchased in generating, transmitting, or distributing electricity.

(C) For the purpose of the proper administration of this chapter, and to prevent the evasion of the tax, it is presumed that all sales made in this state are subject to the tax until the contrary is established.

(D) As used in this section, except in division (B)(16) of this section, "food" includes cereals and cereal products, milk and milk products including ice cream, meat and meat products, fish and fish products, eggs and egg products, vegetables and vegetable products, fruits, fruit products, and pure fruit juices, condiments, sugar and sugar products, coffee and coffee substitutes, tea, and cocoa and cocoa products. It does not include: spirituous liquors, wine, mixed beverages, or beer; soft drinks; sodas and beverages that are ordinarily dispensed at or in connection with bars and soda fountains, other than coffee, tea, and cocoa; root beer and root beer extracts; malt and malt extracts; mineral oils, cod liver oils, and halibut liver oil; medicines, including tonics, vitamin preparations, and other products sold primarily for their medicinal properties; and water, including mineral, bottled, and carbonated waters, and ice.

(C)(E) The levy of this tax on retail sales of recreation and sports club service shall not prevent a municipal corporation from levying any tax on recreation and sports club dues or on any income generated by recreation and sports club dues.

Sec. 5739.03.  (A) Except as provided in section 5739.05 of the Revised Code, the tax imposed by or pursuant to section 5739.02, 5739.021, 5739.023, or 5739.026 of the Revised Code shall be paid by the consumer to the vendor, and each vendor shall collect from the consumer, as a trustee for the state of Ohio, the full and exact amount of the tax payable on each taxable sale, in the manner and at the times provided as follows:

(1) If the price is, at or prior to the provision of the service or the delivery of possession of the thing sold to the consumer, paid in currency passed from hand to hand by the consumer or the consumer's agent to the vendor or the vendor's agent, the vendor or the vendor's agent shall collect the tax with and at the same time as the price;

(2) If the price is otherwise paid or to be paid, the vendor or the vendor's agent shall, at or prior to the provision of the service or the delivery of possession of the thing sold to the consumer, charge the tax imposed by or pursuant to section 5739.02, 5739.021, 5739.023, or 5739.026 of the Revised Code to the account of the consumer, which amount shall be collected by the vendor from the consumer in addition to the price. Such sale shall be reported on and the amount of the tax applicable thereto shall be remitted with the return for the period in which the sale is made, and the amount of the tax shall become a legal charge in favor of the vendor and against the consumer.

(B)(1) If any sale is claimed to be exempt under division (E) of section 5739.01 of the Revised Code or under section 5739.02 of the Revised Code, with the exception of divisions (B)(1) to (11) or (28) of section 5739.02 of the Revised Code, the consumer must provide to the vendor, and the vendor must obtain from the consumer, a certificate specifying the reason that the sale is not legally subject to the tax. The certificate shall be provided either in a hard copy form or electronic form, as prescribed by the tax commissioner. If the transaction is claimed to be exempt under division (B)(13) of section 5739.02 of the Revised Code, the exemption certificate shall be provided by both the contractor and the contractee. Such contractee shall be deemed to be the consumer of all items purchased under such claim of exemption, if it is subsequently determined that the exemption is not properly claimed. The certificate shall be in such form as the tax commissioner by regulation prescribes.

(2) The vendor shall maintain records, including exemption certificates, of all sales on which a consumer has claimed an exemption, and provide them to the tax commissioner on request.

(3) The tax commissioner may establish an identification system whereby the commissioner issues an identification number to a consumer that is exempt from payment of the tax. The consumer must present the number to the vendor, if any sale is claimed to be exempt as provided in this section.

(4) If no certificate is provided or obtained within the period for filing the return for the period in which such sale is consummated, it shall be presumed that the tax applies. Failure to have so provided, or to have so obtained, a certificate shall not prevent a vendor or consumer from establishing that the sale is not subject to the tax within one hundred twenty days of the giving of notice by the commissioner of intention to levy an assessment, in which event the tax shall not apply.

(5) Certificates need not be obtained nor provided where the identity of the consumer is such that the transaction is never subject to the tax imposed or where the item of tangible personal property sold or the service provided is never subject to the tax imposed, regardless of use, or when the sale is in interstate commerce.

(C) As used in this division, "contractee" means a person who seeks to enter or enters into a contract or agreement with a contractor or vendor for the construction of real property or for the sale and installation onto real property of tangible personal property.

Any contractor or vendor may request from any contractee a certification of what portion of the property to be transferred under such contract or agreement is to be incorporated into the realty and what portion will retain its status as tangible personal property after installation is completed. The contractor or vendor shall request the certification by certified mail delivered to the contractee, return receipt requested. Upon receipt of such request and prior to entering into the contract or agreement, the contractee shall provide to the contractor or vendor a certification sufficiently detailed to enable the contractor or vendor to ascertain the resulting classification of all materials purchased or fabricated by the contractor or vendor and transferred to the contractee. This requirement applies to a contractee regardless of whether the contractee holds a direct payment permit under section 5739.031 of the Revised Code or provides to the contractor or vendor an exemption certificate as provided under this section.

For the purposes of the taxes levied by this chapter and Chapter 5741. of the Revised Code, the contractor or vendor may in good faith rely on the contractee's certification. Notwithstanding division (B) of section 5739.01 of the Revised Code, if the tax commissioner determines that certain property certified by the contractee as tangible personal property pursuant to this division is, in fact, real property, the contractee shall be considered to be the consumer of all materials so incorporated into that real property and shall be liable for the applicable tax, and the contractor or vendor shall be excused from any liability on those materials.

If a contractee fails to provide such certification upon the request of the contractor or vendor, the contractor or vendor shall comply with the provisions of this chapter and Chapter 5741. of the Revised Code without the certification. If the tax commissioner determines that such compliance has been performed in good faith and that certain property treated as tangible personal property by the contractor or vendor is, in fact, real property, the contractee shall be considered to be the consumer of all materials so incorporated into that real property and shall be liable for the applicable tax, and the construction contractor or vendor shall be excused from any liability on those materials.

This division does not apply to any contract or agreement where the tax commissioner determines as a fact that a certification under this division was made solely on the decision or advice of the contractor or vendor.

(D) Notwithstanding division (B) of section 5739.01 of the Revised Code, whenever the total rate of tax imposed under this chapter is increased after the date after a construction contract is entered into, the contractee shall reimburse the construction contractor for any additional tax paid on tangible property consumed or services received pursuant to the contract.

(E) A vendor who files a petition for reassessment contesting the assessment of tax on sales for which the vendor obtained no valid exemption certificates and for which the vendor failed to establish that the sales were properly not subject to the tax during the one-hundred-twenty-day period allowed under division (B) of this section, may present to the tax commissioner additional evidence to prove that the sales were properly subject to a claim of exception or exemption. The vendor shall file such evidence within ninety days of the receipt by the vendor of the notice of assessment, except that, upon application and for reasonable cause, the period for submitting such evidence shall be extended thirty days.

The commissioner shall consider such additional evidence in reaching the final determination on the assessment and petition for reassessment.

(F) Whenever a vendor refunds to the consumer the full price of an item of tangible personal property on which the tax imposed under this chapter has been paid, the vendor shall also refund the full amount of the tax paid.

Sec. 5739.11.  As used in this section, "food service operator" means a vendor who conducts a food service operation under Chapter 3717. of the Revised Code.

Each vendor shall keep complete and accurate records of sales, together with a record of the tax collected on the sales, which shall be the amount due under sections 5739.01 to 5739.31 of the Revised Code, and shall keep all invoices, bills of lading, and other such pertinent documents. Alternatively, any food service operator who has not been convicted under section 5739.99 of the Revised Code, with respect to the vendor's food service operation, may keep a sample of primary sales records. Such sample shall consist of all sales invoices, guest checks, cash register tapes, and other such documents for each of fourteen days in every calendar quarter. The specific days to be included in the sample shall be determined by the tax commissioner and entered in the commissioner's journal within ten days after the close of every calendar quarter. The tax commissioner shall notify each such operator registered pursuant to section 5739.17 of the Revised Code who requests such notification of the days to be included in each sample by the last day of the month following the close of each calendar quarter. The notice also shall contain a statement that destruction of primary records for time periods other than the specified sample period is optional, and that some operators may wish to keep all such records for four full years so as to be able to clearly demonstrate that they have fully complied with this chapter and Chapter 5741. of the Revised Code. The tax commissioner shall further make such determination known through a general news release.

Each vendor shall keep exemption certificates required to be obtained under section 5739.03 of the Revised Code. If the vendor makes sales not subject to the tax and not required to be evidenced by an exemption certificate, the vendor's records shall show the identity of the purchaser, if the sale was exempted by reason of such identity, or the nature of the transaction, if exempted for any other reason. Vendors are not required to differentiate in record-keeping between sales that are exempt from taxation under division (B)(2) of section 5739.02 of the Revised Code and those that are exempt under division (B)(16) of that section. Such records and other documents required to be kept by this section shall be open during business hours to the inspection of the tax commissioner, and shall be preserved for a period of four years, unless the commissioner, in writing, consents to their destruction within that period, or by order requires that they be kept longer.

Sec. 5741.02.  (A) For the use of the general revenue fund of the state, an excise tax is hereby levied on the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of tangible personal property or the benefit realized in this state of any service provided. The tax shall be collected pursuant to the schedules in section 5739.025 of the Revised Code.

(B) Each consumer, storing, using, or otherwise consuming in this state tangible personal property or realizing in this state the benefit of any service provided, shall be liable for the tax, and such liability shall not be extinguished until the tax has been paid to this state; provided, that the consumer shall be relieved from further liability for the tax if the tax has been paid to a seller in accordance with section 5741.04 of the Revised Code or prepaid by the seller in accordance with section 5741.06 of the Revised Code.

(C) The tax does not apply to the storage, use, or consumption in this state of the following described tangible personal property or services, nor to the storage, use, or consumption or benefit in this state of tangible personal property or services purchased under the following described circumstances:

(1) When the sale of property or service in this state is subject to the excise tax imposed by sections 5739.01 to 5739.31 of the Revised Code, provided said tax has been paid;

(2) Except as provided in division (D) of this section, tangible personal property or services, the acquisition of which, if made in Ohio, would be a sale not subject to the tax imposed by sections 5739.01 to 5739.31 of the Revised Code;

(3) Property or services, the storage, use, or other consumption of or benefit from which this state is prohibited from taxing by the Constitution of the United States, laws of the United States, or the Constitution of this state. This exemption shall not exempt from the application of the tax imposed by this section the storage, use, or consumption of tangible personal property that was purchased in interstate commerce, but that has come to rest in this state, provided that fuel to be used or transported in carrying on interstate commerce that is stopped within this state pending transfer from one conveyance to another is exempt from the excise tax imposed by this section and section 5739.02 of the Revised Code;

(4) Transient use of tangible personal property in this state by a nonresident tourist or vacationer, or a non-business use within this state by a nonresident of this state, if the property so used was purchased outside this state for use outside this state and is not required to be registered or licensed under the laws of this state;

(5) Tangible personal property or services rendered, upon which taxes have been paid to another jurisdiction to the extent of the amount of the tax paid to such other jurisdiction. Where the amount of the tax imposed by this section and imposed pursuant to section 5741.021, 5741.022, or 5741.023 of the Revised Code exceeds the amount paid to another jurisdiction, the difference shall be allocated between the tax imposed by this section and any tax imposed by a county or a transit authority pursuant to section 5741.021, 5741.022, or 5741.023 of the Revised Code, in proportion to the respective rates of such taxes.

As used in this subdivision, "taxes paid to another jurisdiction" means the total amount of retail sales or use tax or similar tax based upon the sale, purchase, or use of tangible personal property or services rendered legally, levied by and paid to another state or political subdivision thereof, or to the District of Columbia, where the payment of such tax does not entitle the taxpayer to any refund or credit for such payment.

(6) The transfer of a used manufactured home or used mobile home, as defined by section 5739.0210 of the Revised Code, made on or after January 1, 2000;

(7) Drugs that are or are intended to be distributed free of charge to a practitioner licensed to prescribe, dispense, and administer drugs to a human being in the course of a professional practice and that by law may be dispensed only by or upon the order of such a practitioner.

(D) The tax applies to the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of tangible personal property or services, the acquisition of which at the time of sale was excepted under division (E)(1) of section 5739.01 of the Revised Code from the tax imposed by section 5739.02 of the Revised Code, but which has subsequently been temporarily or permanently stored, used, or otherwise consumed in a taxable manner.

(E)(1) If any transaction is claimed to be exempt under division (E) of section 5739.01 of the Revised Code or under section 5739.02 of the Revised Code, with the exception of divisions (B)(1) to (11) or (28) of section 5739.02 of the Revised Code, the consumer shall provide to the seller, and the seller shall obtain from the consumer, a certificate specifying the reason that the transaction is not subject to the tax. The certificate shall be provided either in a hard copy form or electronic form, as prescribed by the tax commissioner. If the transaction is claimed to be exempt under division (B)(13) of section 5739.02 of the Revised Code, the exemption certificate shall be provided by both the contractor and contractee. Such contractee shall be deemed to be the consumer of all items purchased under the claim of exemption, if it is subsequently determined that the exemption is not properly claimed. The certificate shall be in such form as the tax commissioner by rule prescribes. The seller shall maintain records, including exemption certificates, of all sales on which a consumer has claimed an exemption, and provide them to the tax commissioner on request.

(2) If no certificate is provided or obtained within the period for filing the return for the period in which the transaction is consummated, it shall be presumed that the tax applies. The failure to have so provided or obtained a certificate shall not preclude a seller or consumer from establishing, within one hundred twenty days of the giving of notice by the commissioner of intention to levy an assessment, that the transaction is not subject to the tax.

(F) A seller who files a petition for reassessment contesting the assessment of tax on transactions for which the seller obtained no valid exemption certificates, and for which the seller failed to establish that the transactions were not subject to the tax during the one-hundred-twenty-day period allowed under division (E) of this section, may present to the tax commissioner additional evidence to prove that the transactions were exempt. The seller shall file such evidence within ninety days of the receipt by the seller of the notice of assessment, except that, upon application and for reasonable cause, the tax commissioner may extend the period for submitting such evidence thirty days.

(G) For the purpose of the proper administration of sections 5741.01 to 5741.22 of the Revised Code, and to prevent the evasion of the tax hereby levied, it shall be presumed that any use, storage, or other consumption of tangible personal property in this state is subject to the tax until the contrary is established.

Section 2. That existing sections 165.09, 902.11, 2915.01, 4505.06, 4981.20, 5721.31, 5739.01, 5739.02, 5739.03, 5739.11, and 5741.02 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.

Section 3.  Section 5739.01 of the Revised Code was amended by Am. Sub. H.B. 524, Am. Sub. S.B. 143, and Sub. S.B. 200, all of the 124th General Assembly. Comparison of these amendments in pursuance of section 1.52 of the Revised Code discloses that while certain of the amendments of these acts are reconcilable, certain other of the amendments are substantively irreconcilable. Am. Sub. H.B. 524 was passed on March 21, 2002; Am. Sub. S.B. 143 was passed on January 30, 2002; Sub. S.B. 200 was passed on March 13, 2002. Section 5739.01 of the Revised Code is therefore presented in this act as it results from Am. Sub. H.B. 524 and Sub. S.B. 200 and such of the amendments of Am. Sub. S.B. 143 as are not in conflict with the amendments of Sub. S.B. 200. The General Assembly, applying the principle stated in division (B) of section 1.52 of the Revised Code that amendments are to be harmonized if reasonably capable of simultaneous operation, finds that the composite is the resulting version of the section in effect prior to the effective date of the section as presented in this act.