USAir, Inc. v. Tracy

I

Soft Drinks

USAir argues that passengers drank soft drinks to avoid dehydration during the flight and that its provision of such drinks was essential to rendering its transportation service. Thus, it argues, it used or consumed soft drinks directly in the rendition of a public utility service. The commissioner replies that USAir did not establish the necessity of the soft drinks in rendering the transportation service.

R.C. 5739.01(E)(2) excepts from the sales tax (and R.C. 5741.02[C][2] from the use tax) sales “in which the purpose of consumer * * * is to use or consume the thing transferred…