R.I. Gen. Laws § 44-18-12 — “Sale price” defined

(a) “Sales price” applies to the measure subject to sales tax and means the total amount
of consideration, including cash, credit, property, and services, for which personal
property or services are sold, leased, or rented, valued in money, whether received
in money or otherwise, without any deduction for the following:
(i) The seller’s cost of the property sold;
(ii) The cost of materials used, labor or service cost, interest, losses, all costs of
transportation to the seller, all taxes imposed on the seller, and any other expense
of the seller;
(iii) Charges by the seller for any services necessary to complete the sale, other than
delivery and installation charges;
(iv) Delivery charges, as defined in § 44-18-7.1(i);
(v) Credit for any trade-in, as determined by state law; or
(vi) The amount charged for services, as defined in § 44-18-7.3.
(b) “Sales price” shall not include:
(i) Discounts, including cash, term, or coupons that are not reimbursed by a third party
that are allowed by a seller and taken by a purchaser on a sale;
(ii) The amount charged for labor or services rendered in installing or applying the property
sold when the charge is separately stated by the retailer to the purchaser; provided
that in transactions subject to the provisions of this chapter the retailer shall
separately state such charge when requested by the purchaser and, further, the failure
to separately state such charge when requested may be restrained in the same manner
as other unlawful acts or practices prescribed in chapter 13.1 of title 6.
(iii) Interest, financing, and carrying charges from credit extended on the sale of personal
property or services, if the amount is separately stated on the invoice, bill of sale
or similar document given to the purchaser; and
(iv) Any taxes legally imposed directly on the consumer that are separately stated on the
invoice, bill of sale or similar document given to the purchaser.
(v) Manufacturer rebates allowed on the sale of motor vehicles.
(c) “Sales price” shall include consideration received by the seller from third parties
if:
(i) The seller actually receives consideration from a party other than the purchaser and
the consideration is directly related to a price reduction or discount on the sale;
(ii) The seller has an obligation to pass the price reduction or discount through to the
purchaser;
(iii) The amount of the consideration attributable to the sale is fixed and determinable
by the seller at the time of the sale of the item to the purchaser; and
(iv) One of the following criteria is met:
(A) The purchaser presents a coupon, certificate or other documentation to the seller
to claim a price reduction or discount where the coupon, certificate or documentation
is authorized, distributed or granted by a third party with the understanding that
the third party will reimburse any seller to whom the coupon, certificate or documentation
is presented;
(B) The purchaser identifies himself or herself to the seller as a member of a group or
organization entitled to a price reduction or discount (a “preferred customer” card
that is available to any patron does not constitute membership in such a group), or
(C) The price reduction or discount is identified as a third party price reduction or
discount on the invoice received by the purchaser or on a coupon, certificate or other
documentation presented by the purchaser.