Rev. Rul. 55-697

Payments made by a state-operated school from its own funds for the transportation of its faculty and staff members to national and regional educational conventions constitute payments for transportation furnished to a state under the provisions of section 4292 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, and are exempt from the tax on the transportation of persons imposed by section 4261 of the Code. In order to establish such exemption, Form 731, Exemption Certificate, must be presented to the carrier at the time the charges for transportation are paid. Where a portion of the cost of the transportation is paid from funds of the school and the remainder by the faculty or staff members from their own funds, the exemption applies only to the portion of the transportation charges paid from the funds of the school. In such case the exemption certificate must show separately the amount of the exempt transportation paid from funds of the school, and the amount of the nonexempt transportation paid by the faculty or staff members from their own funds