RATES; COMPUTATION OF TAX.

(a) Subject to Sections 171.003 and 171.1016 and except as provided by Subsection (b), the rate of the franchise tax is 0.75 percent of taxable margin.

(b) Subject to Sections 171.003 and 171.1016, the rate of the franchise tax is 0.375 percent of taxable margin for those taxable entities primarily engaged in retail or wholesale trade.

(c) A taxable entity is primarily engaged in retail or wholesale trade only if:

(1) the total revenue from its activities in retail or wholesale trade is greater than the total revenue from its activities in trades other than the retail and wholesale trades;

(2) except as provided by Subsection (c-1), less than 50 percent of the total revenue from activities in retail or wholesale trade comes from the sale of products it produces or products produced by an entity that is part of an affiliated group to which the taxable entity also belongs; and

(3) the taxable entity does not provide retail or wholesale utilities, including telecommunications services, electricity, or gas.

(c-1) Subsection (c)(2) does not apply to total revenue from activities in a retail trade described by Major Group 58 of the Standard Industrial Classification Manual published by the federal Office of Management and Budget.

(c-2) For purposes of Subsection (c)(3), the provision of telecommunications services does not include selling telephone prepaid calling cards.

(d) A taxable entity is not required to pay any tax and is not considered to owe any tax for a period if:

(1) the amount of tax computed for the taxable entity is less than $1,000; or

(2) the amount of the taxable entity's total revenue from its entire business is less than or equal to $2.47 million or the amount determined under Section 171.006 per 12-month period on which margin is based.