h a l f b a k e r yRenovating the wheel
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The buffet line is in one state and the eating area is in the other. You carry your tray over the line, and voila, no taxes.
2005 state sales tax rates
http://www.taxadmin...fta/rate/sales.html Only Virginia, Tennessee, and Missouri have a state sales tax on food. [Shz, Jan 01 2006]
[link]
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Or just move to a state that doesn't tax food. |
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Or just move to a state that doesn't tax. |
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Moving? Or eating in another state? |
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Having been around a bit, never noticing a state sales tax on food, curiosity kicked in. <link> |
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Taxing regular food seems downright evil to me, even more so when you consider the relative poverty of the states doing it... ew. That's all I have to say on that. |
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I dunno, tax evasion over state lines; that could be a federal offense. |
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[Shz: your notation is a little wrong: if I read the notes correctly, those three stats have a separate tax rate for food, but another 12 states apply their regular tax rate to food.] |
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"In most places, restaurant meals are subject to state/local sales tax. Many jurisdictions, however, also impose special, higher sales taxes on food and beverages sold at restaurants-as high as 10%."--restaurant.org |
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Seems you are correct, [DrC]. For some reason I read a blank as a statewide local tax (my bad). Anyway, the somewhat off-topic link was in response to your //move to a state that doesn't tax food// anno which, besides being impractical (though that never stopped us before), is not necessarily a valid solution. |
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The point I was getting to (eventually - my mind must have been elsewhere at the time) is that even in a state with no state sales tax on food, you may still be taxed at a restaurant. Often dining out is considered a luxury and is taxed as such even though food in general is not taxed. |
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But (in the US) aren't there some prohibitions against moving agricultural produce across some state lines to prevent the spread of pests and crop diseases, etc.? Therefore there might be a little control station between the buffet and the checkout. |
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actually this would be a nifty music festival thing |
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Maine has a sales tax on 'snack food', and there's been a lot
of heated debate over exactly what that means.
Restaurants and food vendors are exempt*, for instance,
but some people say ice cream stands shouldn't be because
ice cream is a sugary snack like candy. Others say that
french fries should be taxable because they're essentially
no different from potato chips. Soda is taxable, but sugary
'fruit juice cocktails' aren't. Still other people say that
it should be all or nothing, since food is food. |
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The original
spirit of the legislation was to promote healthy eating, but
major statewide studies have shown that buying habits
haven't changed significantly since the 'snack tax' was put
in place
about a decade ago. |
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*or were last I knew; it's been changing pretty frequently
of late. |
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<edit: it turns out restaurants are back on the 'luxury tax'
list, but 'food vendors' i.e. hot dog stands and drive-
through coffee sellers are not. Go figure.> |
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When Canada was about to implement a similar
tax on all groceries, I heard 2 economists being interviewed
on the radio. The economists said that, like all taxes, the
numbers are easy but the definitions are hard. |
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"Surely," the interviewer said, "it would be dead simple to
just exempt the basic staples like bread and milk?". "Yeah!"
I thought.
"What about hamburger buns?" said one economist. "What
about chocolate milk?" said the other. "Oh" I thought. |
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