Texas Attorney General Opinion: DM-110 Page: 2 of 4
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Mr. Larry Kosta - Page 2
made payable to the State of Texas in the amount of the tax due
shall be attached to the verified report.
The state deposits the money it receives as a result of the gross receipts tax into the
General Revenue Fund. V.T.C.S. art. 8501-1, 11(c). You request our opinion as
to whether section 11(b) applies to cable television companies that collect from
their subscribers special pay-per-view fees, entitling each paying subscriber to watch
a simultaneous telecast of live boxing matches. If section 11(b) does apply to pay-
per-view cable television companies, each pay-per-view cable television company
offering simultaneous telecasts of live boxing matches must acquire a promoter's
license, obtain a permit, and pay the three percent gross receipts tax. The ultimate
issue is whether "admission fee," as section 11(b) of the act uses that term, includes
the special pay-per-view fees cable television subscribers pay to cable television
companies for the privilege of viewing simultaneous telecasts of live boxing
matches.'
Former article 614-1 of the Texas Penal Code was the predecessor statute to
article 8501-1, V.T.C.S. See S.B. 34, Acts 1973, 63d Leg., ch. 399, 5, at 995, 996b.
The Texas Court of Civil Appeals, in a case involving former article 614-1 stated
that the article "strictly regulated" boxing activity, that is, the article was designed to
control all aspects of the professional boxing industry in Texas. Harvey v. Morgan,
272 S.W.2d 621, 622 (Tex. Civ. App.-Austin. 1954, writ ref'd n.r.e.). While the
legislature has amended former article 614-1 of the Penal Code and its successor,
article 8501-1, V.T.C.S., since the Court of Civil Appeals decided Harvey, the
current statute continues to strictly regulate boxing in the State of Texas. See
V.T.C.S. art. 8501-1, 2.
Principles of statutory construction require us to construe statutes in such a
manner as to accomplish the legislative intent. Attorney General Opinions M-119
(1967) at 2 (quoting 53 TEx. JUR 2d Statutes 134, at 195-6 (1964)); M-156 (1967)
'We found conflicting authorities on whether the term "closed circuit telecast," as it is used in
section 11(b) of the act, can be construed to include "cable telvision," as the consuming public
understands the term "cable television." Compare E. Foster, UNDERSrANDING BROADCASING 38,
455, 456 (1979) (defining and discussing closed circuit television and cable television) and Wes ER's
NINIH NEW COLlOIATE DICITONARY 193, 250 (1987) (defining "cable," "cable television," and "closed
circuit") with Showing of Sports Ewnts, 34 F.C.C2d 271, 280 para. 36 (1972) (distinguishing closed
circuit television from subscription cable television for purposes of anti-siphoning rule). As we can
decide the issue you present on the basis of the meaning of the term "admission fee," we do not discuss
whether "closed circuit telecast" can be construed to include pay-per-view telecasts.p. 558
(DM-110)
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Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: DM-110, text, April 20, 1992; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth273919/m1/2/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.