Opinion
S22C1247
03-21-2023
FUNVESTMENT GROUP, LLC v. ROBYN A. CRITTENDEN, IN HER OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS COMMISSIONER OF THE GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE.
Court of Appeals Case No. A22A0193
The Honorable Supreme Court met pursuant to adjournment. The following order was passed:
The Supreme Court today granted the writ of certiorari in this case as case No. S22G1247.
This case will be assigned to the June 2023 oral argument calendar automatically under Supreme Court Rule 50 (1) (a). Oral argument is mandatory in granted certiorari cases.
This Court is particularly concerned with the following issue or issues:
Was the Court of Appeals correct to hold that the sales tax exemption under OCGA § 48-8-3 (43) does not apply to Funvestment's lease payments to Tiny Towne because such payments are not "[g]ross revenues generated from" the leased Coin Operated Amusement Machines? In answering that question, the parties are directed to address:
• whether, under OCGA § 48-8-3 (43), revenues must be generated by participation-plays of the machines to be exempted;
• whether, under OCGA § 48-8-3 (43), funds must be the "revenue" of the taxpayer in order to qualify for the exemption, and whether the subject lease payments in this case are "revenue" belonging to Funvestment, as opposed to an expense, and whether that makes a difference in the analysis; and
• how apparently competing interpretive presumptions regarding tax statutes might bear on the meaning of the statutory provisions at issue in this case? Compare, e.g., Georgia Dep't of Revenue v. Owens Corning, 283 Ga. 489, 489 (660 S.E.2d 719) (2008) with Telecom*USA, Inc. v. Collins, 260 Ga. 362, 363 (1) (393 S.E.2d 235) (1990); see also Trawick Const. Co., Inc. v. Ga. Dep't of Revenue, 286 Ga. 597, 598-599, 604 (690 S.E.2d 601) (2010).
Briefs should be submitted only on these points. See Supreme Court Rule 45.
All the Justices concur, except Colvin and Pinson, JJ., disqualified.