Bridgestone Associates has conducted a number of Sales and Use Tax Exemption Studies for manufacturing clients in Pennsylvania. Under Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Code, the energy used directly in the process of manufacturing in facilities within the Commonwealth is exempt from Sales and Use Taxes. However, the remainder of the energy used within the same facility for non-manufacturing purposes is subject to these taxes and so the manufacturing and non-manufacturing uses must be distinguished for tax purposes. The studies performed were to determine and document the percentage of the total facility energy use that could be attributed to manufacturing and therefore tax exempt, and to assist the clients in preparing the necessary Certificate of Exemption forms to be filed with their energy suppliers and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Department of Revenue.
In two recent projects of this type that Bridgestone Associates completed, studies were performed for a large commercial bakery client and a large commercial book printing facility. The bakery used both natural gas and electricity in their manufacturing processes while the printing facility used only electricity.