Rule 37. - Sign manufacturers and painters.

Persons engaged in the business of painting signs on buildings or other real or personal property belonging to others are rendering services of a kind not subject to the tax, and their gross proceeds from such services are not within the ordinance. Sales of paint, brushes and other tangible personal property to such sign painters are sales to purchasers for use or consumption and the seller thereof must pay a tax measured by his gross proceeds.

Where a sign painter fabricates and paints a sign from his own materials and sells the same to a customer as a finished article for use or consumption, he must pay the tax imposed with respect to his gross proceeds from such sale. He may not deduct from the selling price the labor or service charge for painting.

Persons engaged in the business of selling to users or consumers electric, neon or other illuminated signs, whether manufactured by themselves or not, are selling tangible personal property at retail and become liable for the tax. If at time of such sales they contract to furnish periodical maintenance or repair service for a flat charge including the purchase price of the sign, the total gross proceeds from the sale are within the ordinance. Similarly, if the charges for maintenance or repair services rendered subsequently to the sale of signs are billed separately to customers, such charges are taxed as "sales of services". If the main-taxable services, such as insurance and inspection, the portion of the maintenance charge representing the cost of inspection and insurance may be excluded from the tax provided such charges are segregated in the contract.