Top 10 Most Unusual Sales Tax Laws for 2004
WebCPA compiled this funny list of unusual sales tax laws:
10. In Ohio, a gift basket of fruit or candy isn't subject to sales tax, as the "true object sought is the food items contained within," not the basket. However, a lead crystal candy dish full of candy would be fully taxable, since the dish is considered a decorative container.
9. In Connecticut, the sale of a pumpkin in its "natural grown state" is exempt from sales tax because it is considered a food product. However, if the pumpkin is sold after being painted, its "primary purpose" becomes decoration and is subject to sales tax.
8. In Washington, crushed, shaved or cubed ice isn't taxable, but blocks of ice are.
7. Up until 2003 in Texas, donuts and other individual-sized bakery items sold in quantities of 5 or less were taxable. They are now exempt.
6. Antacids are exempt in Connecticut, but are taxable once one you cross the border into Massachusetts.
5. In Minnesota, cough drops are taxable as "candy."
4. In California, fresh fruit is exempt, but an apple purchased through a vending machine is taxable on 33 percent of the price.
3. In Minnesota, massage therapy provided by a licensed masseuse is subject to the state sales tax unless the massage is for the treatment of an "illness, injury or disease," in which case it is tax-exempt.
2. In Texas, "intravenous systems, supplies and replacement parts" are tax-exempt when used in the treatment of humans, but taxable when used in the treatment of animals.
1. In Wisconsin, cloth diapers are exempt, but disposable baby diapers are taxable.
As Kerry M. Kerstetter correctly noted in his Tax Guru-Ker$tetter Letter, if we cannot devise an easy way to synchronize our sales tax systems in 7,500 jurisdictions across the country, it is virtually impossible to require Internet-based merchants to assess sales tax.
A lot of news media wrote about the 2003 tax return for the President and Vice President this morning (NY Times, Washington Post, LA Times, to name a few). Read
GeorgeBush.com put together this calculator to illustrate how much one will pay because of John Kelly's proposal of 50 cents/gallon gas tax increase. According to the calculator, I would pay $337.96 more under Kelly's administration. Read
ABC reported that the refund checks sent out so far averages $2,292, a 4.5% percent increase over that of last year. (Caution: this number may be higher than the final average check size because early filers are mostly likely to be people expecting big refund ... Read
The Administration proposed yet another temporary fix to the faulty Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) system by extending the existing temporary fix to the end of 2005. Without this fix, 13 million taxpayers will be subject to AMT instead of under 4 million. Read
