Ehler Quoted in Bloomberg Law Story on Ohio’s True Object Test, Digital Service Taxability

Tony Ehler, a partner in the Vorys Columbus office and chair of the firm’s probate and tax group, was quoted in a Bloomberg Law story titled “Fiserv Unit’s Case Will Measure Scope of Ohio Taxable Services.”  The story revolves around CheckFree Services Corp., a financial services technology company, and its request to the Supreme Court of Ohio for a refund on sales tax on digital services provided to financial institutions, claiming the services were nontaxable under Ohio’s “true object test.”

Ehler cast doubt on the effort, based on the decision in a separate, similar matter exploring the same question.

“The lesson here, in this industry—for this vendor anyway, or this set of vendors—is it’s going to be a steep hill for them,” Ehler said. “I think that counsel is trying to set itself apart and distinguish itself, but I am not sure anybody’s going to buy it.”

He also suggested that CheckFree’s application of the true object test would open the door for vendors to subjectively define their services, leading to different tax results.

“You ought to look past what a subjectively described result is and look at what was done, look at what labor or service was provided and how it was provided,” he said.

To read the full story on Bloomberg Law’s website, click here (subscription may be required).