Brills Express Newspaper Free UPDATED Download

<div>Over the years, I have learned how to accept my two halves, and quite =
frankly, I am still learning to accept both. Something that has been unwave=
ring, however, throughout my life thus far is that I am proud of my roots. =
I know that the more I express my light and my story, and other mixed Jews =
of color and Jews of color express their stories, the more open and underst=
anding the world will become of our beautiful mixed race.</div><div></div><=
div></div><div>The central issue in this case is whether the weekly publica=
tion distributed by plaintiff ADVO, Inc. ( ADVO ) during the period at issu=
e was a newspaper within the meaning of N.J.S.A. 54:32B-8.30. Resolution of=
 this question will determine whether receipts from the sale of advertising=
 in the publication were exempt from sales tax. For the reasons described m=
ore fully below, the court concludes that during the period at issue plaint=
iff published a newspaper within the meaning of the statute. Plaintiff, the=
refore, is entitled to a refund of the sales tax it collected on its advert=
ising revenue for distribution to the customers who paid the tax. See N.J.S=
.A. 54:32B-20(a). As a result of this conclusion, the court reverses defend=
ant Director, Division of Taxation s final determination denying plaintiff =
s refund request.</div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></d=
iv><div>brills express newspaper free download</div><div></div><div>Downloa=
d File: https://t.co/87yU2Oz98U </div><div></div><div></div><div>The court =
makes the following findings of fact based on the submissions of the partie=
s on cross-motions for summary judgment. During the period January 14, 2007=
 to April 28, 2007, plaintiff, a Delaware corporation, published a free, we=
ekly, four-page publication entitled ShopWise. Prior to January 14, 2007, S=
hop Wise contained only advertising content. By letter dated April 7, 2005,=
 plaintiff requested a ruling from the Director, Division of Taxation on va=
rious sales and use tax issues. ADVO s ruling request sought guidance on wh=
ether contemplated modifications to Shop Wise would qualify the publication=
 as a newspaper within the meaning of N.J.S.A. 54:32B-8.30, which exempts f=
rom sales tax revenue from advertisements to be published in newspapers. Pl=
aintiff requested a ruling that [a]ssuming ADVO limits the advertising spac=
e on its Shop Wise publication to 90 percent or less, ADVO s Shop Wise publ=
ication will qualify as an exempt newspaper. In a May 27, 2005 response to =
the ruling request, the Director advised that if Shop Wise contained more t=
han 10% non-advertising matter and met the other applicable regulatory requ=
irements the publication would qualify as a newspaper under the statute and=
 N.J.A.C. 18:24-1.2 (2007), a regulation interpreting N.J.S.A. 54:32B-8.30.=
</div><div></div><div></div><div>ADVO distributed Shop Wise each week witho=
ut charge to residential recipients at 2.6 million New Jersey households. S=
hop Wise was most frequently delivered by the United States Postal Service =
through bulk mailing, although the publication was sometimes delivered by n=
ewspaper carriers and hand delivery in densely populated areas or because o=
f other considerations.</div><div></div><div></div><div>Plaintiff considere=
d advertising receipts from the reformatted Shop Wise to be exempt from sal=
es tax during the relevant period because the publication constituted a new=
spaper within the meaning of N.J.S.A. 54:32B-8.30. However, in the event th=
at the Director disagreed with this position, plaintiff did not want to exp=
ose itself to sales tax liability, penalties and interest and the prospect =
of injuring business relationships by seeking recovery of those amounts fro=
m clients. Accordingly, ADVO charged and collected sales tax on its adverti=
sing revenue. Plaintiff thereafter filed a refund claim for the sales tax i=
t collected with the intention of reimbursing its clients if the refund was=
 granted. See N.J.S.A. 54:32B-20(a).</div><div></div><div></div><div>By let=
ter dated July 15, 2007, ADVO filed a claim for a refund of sales tax in th=
e amount of $1,019,094.41. In a letter dated November 7, 2007, the Director=
 denied plaintiff s refund request. The denial was based on the Director s =
determination that Shop Wise did not meet the definition of newspaper set f=
orth in N.J.A.C. 18:24-1.2 (2007), which interprets N.J.S.A. 54:32B-8.30, a=
nd was instead an advertising flyer or advertising service and was not purc=
hased by readers generally based on an interest in the information containe=
d in the publication. In addition, the Director stated that Shop Wise was m=
ailed to recipients solely as a means to distribute advertising and that pr=
esenting articles on one page of the four page flyer cannot be treated as c=
onverting it into a newspaper, magazine or periodical.</div><div></div><div=
></div><div>The express intent of the Brill decision was to encourage trial=
 courts not to refrain from granting summary judgment when the proper circu=
mstances present themselves. Howell Twp. v. Monmouth County Bd. of Taxation=
, 18 N.J. Tax 149, 153 (Tax 1999)(quoting Brill, supra, 142 N.J. at 541). T=
he court concludes that this matter is ripe for decision by summary judgmen=
t. There are no material facts in dispute between the parties and the valid=
ity of the Director s decision can be determined by application of the law =
to the undisputed facts.</div><div></div><div></div><div>It is against this=
 backdrop of guiding principles that the court must apply N.J.S.A. 54:32B-8=
.30 and N.J.A.C. 18:24-1.2 (2007) to the facts of this case. The statute pr=
ovides that [r]eceipts from the sales of advertising to be published in a n=
ewspaper are exempt from the tax imposed under the Sales and Use Tax Act. T=
he Legislature did not define newspaper for purposes of this exemption. The=
 Director, however, promulgated a regulation setting forth detailed criteri=
a for determining whether a publication is a newspaper for purposes of N.J.=
S.A. 54:32B-8.30. The regulation was adopted pursuant to the Director s aut=
hority to make, adopt and amend rules and regulations appropriate to the ca=
rrying out of the sales and use tax statute. N.J.S.A. 54:32B-24.</div><div>=
</div><div></div><div>3. A newspaper contains information of general intere=
st or reports of current events and contains original or reprinted articles=
 on a variety of topics, photographs, illustrations, advertising matter, le=
gal notices, comic strips, cartoons, editorial comment or other such subjec=
t matter;</div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>=
</div><div>(b) Except as inconsistent with (a) above, whether a publication=
 has been or would be classified as one which is entitled to second class m=
ailing privileges by the United States Postal Service will be taken into co=
nsideration in the determination of whether or not the publication is a new=
spaper.</div><div></div><div></div><div>This regulation is presumed to be v=
alid. New Jersey Guild of Hearing Aid Dispensers v. Long, 75 N.J. 544 (1978=
); L.B.D. Constr., Inc. v. Director, Div. of Taxation, 8 N.J. Tax 338, 353 =
(Tax 1986). N.J.A.C. 18:24-1.2 was amended effective in 2009 to alter the d=
efinition of newspaper for purposes of the exemption statute. The amended r=
egulation is not applicable to the time periods at issue here.</div><div></=
div><div></div><div>The Director argues that denial of the refund request w=
as justified because Shop Wise was not a true newspaper and did not satisfy=
 three of the criteria set forth in N.J.A.C. 18:24-1.2 (2007). According to=
 the Director, Shop Wise: (1) was not available for circulation among the p=
ublic; (2) did not contain information of general interest or reports of cu=
rrent events and did not contain original or reprinted articles on a variet=
y of topics, photographs, illustrations, advertising matter, legal notices,=
 comic strips, cartoons, editorial comment or other such subject matter; an=
d (3) had not been or would not have been classified as entitled to second =
class mailing privileges by the United States Postal Service.</div><div></d=
iv><div></div><div>In addition, the Director contends that to qualify for a=
n exemption, Shop Wise must have met all of the indicia set forth in N.J.A.=
C. 18:24-1.2(a) (2007). The taxpayer takes the position that the publicatio=
n s general conformity with the regulation s criteria was sufficient to est=
ablish an exemption. The Director s strict view of the regulation is contra=
dicted by its plain language. The regulation stated that a publication qual=
ifies for an exemption as a newspaper if it generally conforms to each of t=
he criteria of the regulation. N.J.A.C. 18:24-1.2(a) (2007). By the Directo=
r s own language strict satisfaction of each element of N.J.A.C. 18:24-1.2(=
a) (2007) was not necessary for the exemption to apply. The Director chose =
to use the phrase generally conforms in the regulation. As a result, applic=
ation of N.J.A.C. 18:24-1.2(a) (2007) to Shop Wise must be made under the g=
eneral conformity standard. The taxpayer was not put on notice that strict =
compliance with each of the regulatory criteria was necessary to establish =
the exemption.</div><div></div><div></div><div>Moreover, the fact that Shop=
 Wise was mailed to resident addressees and not to individually named reade=
rs is of no moment. The exemption applied if the publication was circulated=
 whether or not through paid subscriptions, a criterion that implicitly rec=
ognized that newspapers are commonly made available to readers who are not =
specifically identified to the publisher.</div><div></div><div></div><div>(=
B) A newspaper contains information of general interest or reports of curre=
nt events and contains original or reprinted articles on a variety of topic=
s, photographs, illustrations, advertising matter, legal notices, comic str=
ips, cartoons, editorial comment or other such subject matter. N.J.A.C. 18:=
24-1.2(a)(3) (2007).</div><div></div><div></div><div>While it is arguably t=
rue that Shop Wise did not contain reports of current events, as the Direct=
or argues, such reports were not necessary to satisfy the regulatory criter=
ion, which called for information of general interest or reports of current=
 events. (emphasis added). The regulation did not require news or interview=
s gathered by reporters about current events , (Db12), which the Director a=
rgues was necessary to constitute a newspaper. Such a requirement might wel=
l have been a reasonable interpretation of the statute. The Director, howev=
er, did not include language to that effect in N.J.A.C. 18:24-1.2(a) (2007)=
. The regulation as it existed during the relevant period is presumed to be=
 valid and the requirement that a publication provide only information of g=
eneral interest to qualify as a newspaper was a reasonable interpretation o=
f N.J.S.A. 54:32B-8.30 applicable to the facts before the court.</div><div>=
</div><div> 9738318194</div>