GORMAN, J.
[¶ 1] The State Tax Assessor appeals from the entry of a summary judgment in the Superior Court (Kennebec County, Marden, J.) in favor of MCI Communications Services, Inc. (MCI) on an appeal by the Assessor of a decision vacating the imposition of the state service provider tax on certain charges collected by MCI. The court concluded that those charges were part of the sale of interstate or international
[¶ 2] This appeal concerns two types of surcharges — property tax recovery charges (PTRCs) and carrier cost recovery charges (CCRCs) — that MCI, a telecommunications service provider of long distance telephone service in Maine, imposed upon its Maine customers in 2008, 2009, and 2010. The case was presented to the Superior Court through joint stipulations of facts and stipulated exhibits. As stipulated, the following facts are not in dispute. MCI imposed PTRCs on its customers to recover a percentage of the local and state taxes that it paid on real and tangible personal property used to provide international, interstate, and intrastate telecommunications services. MCI imposed CCRCs on its customers to recover a percentage of the expenses that it paid to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and third party administrators for regulatory fees.
[¶ 3] In January of 2011, Maine Revenue Services (MRS) notified MCI of its intent to audit MCI for the period of March 1, 2008, to December 31, 2010. As a result of the audit, MRS determined that PTRCs and CCRCs were subject to taxation. MRS assessed MCI $184,873.69, including interest, for those charges collected during the audit period.
[¶ 4] MCI sought reconsideration of the assessment, see 36 M.R.S. § 151 (2012),
[¶ 5] On November 6, 2013, the Assessor filed a timely petition for review and de novo determination in the Superior Court. See 36 M.R.S. § 151-D(10)(I) (2016).
[¶ 6] The Assessor contends that the PTRCs and CCRCs collected by MCI were subject to taxation because they were part of the taxable "sale price" of telecommunications services and were not excluded or exempt from taxation because they were not themselves "telecommunications services" nor were they international or interstate in nature. Because the Assessor appeals from the court's decision on cross-motions for summary judgment, "we review de novo whether there was no genuine issue of material fact and either party was entitled to judgment as a matter of law." BCN Telecom, Inc. v. State Tax Assessor, 2016 ME 165, ¶ 2, 151 A.3d 497; see M.R. Civ. P. 56(c).
[¶ 7] In interpreting a tax statute, we look first to its plain meaning to give effect to the Legislature's intent. BCN Telecom, 2016 ME 165, ¶ 2, 151 A.3d 497. We "seek to avoid absurd, illogical or inconsistent results" and "will not read additional language into a statute" or treat words in a statute as "meaningless and superfluous." Blue Yonder, LLC v. State Tax Assessor, 2011 ME 49, ¶ 10, 17 A.3d 667 (quotation marks omitted). Further, we construe a tax statute "most strongly against the government and in the [taxpayer's] favor" and will not extend its reach "beyond the clear import of the language used." BCN Telecom, 2016 ME 165, ¶ 10, 151 A.3d 497 (quotations marks omitted). Statutory exemptions to taxes are construed narrowly, however, and we will not "extend[ ] [an exemption] ... to situations not clearly coming within the scope of the exemption provisions." Id. ¶ 13 (quotation marks omitted).
[¶ 8] We must first determine whether the charges at issue were part of the "sale price" of telecommunications services and were thus subject to the service provider tax before turning to whether the charges were excluded or exempt from that tax. The tax applied to "the value of... [t]elecommunications services," and that value was "measured by the sale price." 36 M.R.S. §§ 2552(1)(E), (2) (2016).
[¶ 9] Like the charges at issue in BCN Telecom, PTRCs and CCRCs are part of "the total amount of consideration ... for which ... services are sold." 36 M.R.S. § 2551(15); see generally 2016 ME 165, 151 A.3d 497. Nothing in the stipulated
[¶ 10] The Legislature amended the tax statute at issue in the instant case partway through the audit period. P.L. 2007, ch. 627, §§ 62-64, 74-75 (effective July 18, 2008) (codified at 36 M.R.S. §§ 2551, 2557 (2016)). Before July 18, 2008, the statute excluded the "sale price" of international and interstate telecommunications services from taxation, see infra Part C, and, from that date forward, the statute exempted the "sales of international and interstate telecommunications services from taxation, see infra Part D. Regardless of which version of the statute was in force, whether the PTRCs and CCRCs were subject to taxation depends upon whether they related only to the sale of international and interstate services or whether they were also charged in connection with intrastate services.
[¶ 11] There is no dispute that MCI imposed PTRCs and CCRCs only on customers who received international and interstate services and calculated them as a percentage of the international and interstate charges incurred by those customers.
[¶ 12] Before July 18, 2008, the statute excluded "service originating or terminating outside of this State" from the definition of "[t]elecommunications services," thereby excluding the "sale price" of international and interstate services from taxation. 36 M.R.S. §§ 2551(15), (20)(B)(1) (2007); 36 M.R.S. §§ 2552(1)(E), (2) (2007). Construing the statute strongly in favor of MCI and against the State, see BCN Telecom, 2016 ME 165, ¶ 10, 151 A.3d 497, we conclude that the PTRCs and CCRCs collected by MCI before July 18, 2008, were not subject to taxation. The plain language of the statute applied the tax to the "sale price" of "[t]he provision of 2-way interactive communications ... originating and terminating" within Maine. 36 M.R.S. §§ 2551(15), (20); 36 M.R.S. §§ 2552(1)(E), (2). Because PTRCs and CCRCs were only included in the "sale price" of telecommunications services originating
[¶ 13] From July 18, 2008, to the end of the audit period, the statute defined "[t]elecommunications services" more generally as "the electronic transmission, conveyance or routing of ... information or signals to a point or between or among points." 36 M.R.S. § 2551(20-A) (2016). It expressly exempted, however, "[s]ales of international telecommunications service" and "[s]ales of interstate telecommunications service" from taxation.
[¶ 14] "In construing a statutory term that is undefined in the statute itself, our primary obligation is to determine its plain meaning. We often rely on the definitions provided in dictionaries in making this determination." Apex Custom Lease Corp. v. State Tax Assessor, 677 A.2d 530, 533 (Me. 1996) (citation omitted). The noun "sale" is commonly defined to mean "[t]he transfer of property or title for a price."
[¶ 15] Based on the plain language of the statute, anything that is part of the "sale price" of international or interstate services is also part of the "sales of" those services, which the Legislature exempted from taxation.
[¶ 16] Accordingly, we conclude that the PTRCs and CCRCs collected by MCI before July 18, 2008, were excluded from taxation and that those charges collected by MCI from July 18, 2008, forward were exempt from taxation. MCI was entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See M.R. Civ. P. 56(c); BCN Telecom, Inc., 2016 ME 165, ¶ 2, 151 A.3d 497.
The entry is:
Judgment affirmed.