Hawaii Administrative Rules
Title 18 - DEPARTMENT OF TAXATION
Chapter 237 - GENERAL EXCISE TAX LAW
Subchapter 2 - LICENSES; TAX; EXEMPTIONS
Section 18-237-29.53-09 - Services requiring customer to be physically present
Except as provided in sections 18-237-2953-03 to 18-237-2953-08, services that require the customer to be physically present at the time the service is performed are used or consumed where the service is performed
Example 1: Fiona Facial, an esthetician in Hawaii, sells a spa package consisting of a facial and manicure to Carol Colorado, a Colorado resident. Carol Colorado purchases the spa package online as a gift for her mother for an upcoming vacation to Hawaii. Carol Colorado's mother travels to Hawaii, where she receives the facial and manicure from Fiona Facial. All of the value or gross income that Fiona Facial receives is not exempt under section 237-29.53, HRS, because Fiona Facial's services are used or consumed in Hawaii. Carol Colorado's mother, the customer, must be physically present in Hawaii at the time the service is performed.
Example 2: ABC Company, an Arizona corporation, holds a corporate retreat in Hawaii. ABC Company hires Sue Speaker, a motivational speaker who resides in New Mexico, to fly to Hawaii and speak to ABC Company and its employees at the corporate retreat. All of the value or gross income that Sue Speaker receives from ABC Company is not exempt under section 237-29.53, HRS, because ABC Company must be physically present (through the presence of its employees) in Hawaii at the time the service is performed.
Example 3: Assume the same facts as in Example 2 except that some employees of ABC Company are unable to attend the corporate retreat in Hawaii. Sue Speaker's presentation is live-streamed to ABC Company's office in Arizona for the employees in Arizona to view. All of the value or gross income that Sue Speaker receives from ABC Company is not exempt under section 237-29.53, HRS, because ABC Company must be physically present (through the presence of its employees) in Hawaii at the time the service is performed, notwithstanding the fact that some of its employees are not required to be physically present.
Example 4: ABC Company, an Arizona corporation, hires Paul Presenter, a motivational speaker who resides in Hawaii, to speak to ABC Company and its employees via live-stream from Hawaii. The live-stream is accessed solely from ABC Company's office in Arizona. Paul Presenter's service does not require ABC Company to be physically present where the service is performed. Accordingly, section 18-237-29.53-09 does not apply. Instead, section 18-237-29.53-11 will apply.
