Um, What The?

[Supermarket Slave Girl]

My co worker C took this call that had me seriously WTFing.

A customer called up and demanded to know why GST (government sales tax) had been charged on his grocery bill .

Seriously dude, have you been living under a rock for the last 8 years, if you want to know why there are taxes on your groceries maybe you should have words with our former prime minister John Howard and talk to him about, he's the one that implemented the tax.

Anywho C thought this guy was having her on and laughed at him, thinking it was an April fools day joke until he started getting really irate and she realized he was dead serious. She transferred the call to our manager who was unable to explain the tax well enough for his liking so she told him to bring his receipt in and she'll explain it to him again.

I hope I'm there to hear I'll be the one on the floor not able to breathe from laughing so hard

[fireheart]

Just a note for the non-US folk: GST is automatically added to the price tag due to some having GST, some not having GST on them.

Still....

[r2cagle]

I understood... we have some of the strange sort of dealings with taxes in the states too. Like here in Louisiana... the 'Stelley' tax was implemented... certain groceries are sales taxed 4% and other stuff is 8.5%. And people do not seem to understand why there are two separate tax lines on their receipt. I've heard them argue that they are getting taxed twice... um no, blame that guy Stelley for his brilliant plan.

[Flying Grype]

PatioKitty, yeah, but not on most grocery items. If you buy actual food items you won't get GST on your receipt. Buy cookies, chips, TV dinners, etc. and you might get tax, but not for the basic groceries.

[Aut]

I can see how that would be confusing. A few years ago the lowered the sales tax on food here in UT, but non-food remained the same, so we have 2 different rates on our receipts.

What gets me is the Utah Use tax (or something along those lines). Basically says that if you buy something out of state and don't pay tax on it, you owe Utah the state rate. If you did pay a sales tax on that out of state purchase and the rate is lower than Utah's rate, you have to pay the difference to the state. Stupidest thing I ever heard. Makes me wonder if the state will pay you the difference ifyou paid a higher tax rate. Not likely.

[Primer]

Aut, Texas has that, also...not that anybody pays it, though. The Comptroller's Office has even said that they are extremely surprised when somebody comes in wanting to pay it!

[G-Radical]

We don't have sales tax in Delaware and I think there is another New England states that doesn't either. Sometimes when I am shopping out of state I forget there is a tax and have that dumbfound look on my face when an item rings up for more than I expected. So, if the guy was from my neck of the woods or something, I can understand why he was startled at first. But to keep fighting it is ridiculous. I am usually only stunned for a minute before my brain clicks back on and I realize I am not in DE anymore! lol

[Andara Bledin]

Aut, Texas has that, also...not that anybody pays it, though. The Comptroller's Office has even said that they are extremely surprised when somebody comes in wanting to pay it!

Most states with a sales tax have that. California does, too, and pretty much the only people who pay it are businesses because they keep records, so it can be proven how much is owed.

^-.-^

[bainsidhe]

Our state assumes each taxpayer makes a minimum number of online purchases each year, which the state is not collecting tax revenues for. To compensate for this shortfall, there is a line on our state income tax form where we fill out the "assumed" value of taxes unpaid. This assumed value is set by the state based on income. Last year I paid and extra $30 to the state for my alleged missing tax revenues. If I want to contest the value (since I didn't make any online purchases last year - really!), I need to fill out a completely different tax form and submit it with receipts to prove I don't owe as much. Not worth my time and aggravation. I must say they're getting quite creative, though.

[Ironclad Alibi]

Our state assumes each taxpayer makes a minimum number of online purchases each year, which the state is not collecting tax revenues for. ... If I want to contest the value (since I didn't make any online purchases last year - really!), I need to fill out a completely different tax form and submit it with receipts to prove I don't owe as much.

What sort of receipts show that you didn't buy something?

[bainsidhe]

Sorry, I meant it more to prove how much you did purchase, for example if you purchase something off of ebay. They also want to recoup any taxes I paid to another state. I did some traveling last year, but I didn't keep the receipts since it's just not worth the effort.

All this reminds me I still have to file my taxes.

[dbblsanta]

We don't have sales tax in Delaware and I think there is another New England states that doesn't either. Sometimes when I am shopping out of state I forget there is a tax and have that dumbfound look on my face when an item rings up for more than I expected. So, if the guy was from my neck of the woods or something, I can understand why he was startled at first. But to keep fighting it is ridiculous. I am usually only stunned for a minute before my brain clicks back on and I realize I am not in DE anymore! lol

Delaware isn't in New England! I live in Rhode Island and there is no sales tax on food items, among other things. (I really think it is unconscionable to tax food!) New Hampshire has no sales tax whatsoever.

[G-Radical]

Delaware isn't in New England!

Yes, I am aware of that fact. I meant to say another state in the New England area. I thought it was New Hampshire but I wasn't sure so thanks for clarifying that. But chill out! It was just a typo, sorry. sheesh!

[Pagan]

What gets me is the Utah Use tax (or something along those lines). Basically says that if you buy something out of state and don't pay tax on it, you owe Utah the state rate. If you did pay a sales tax on that out of state purchase and the rate is lower than Utah's rate, you have to pay the difference to the state. Stupidest thing I ever heard. Makes me wonder if the state will pay you the difference ifyou paid a higher tax rate. Not likely.

That has got to be one of the stupidest damned things I've ever heard of.

Our state assumes each taxpayer makes a minimum number of online purchases each year, which the state is not collecting tax revenues for. To compensate for this shortfall, there is a line on our state income tax form where we fill out the "assumed" value of taxes unpaid. This assumed value is set by the state based on income. Last year I paid and extra $30 to the state for my alleged missing tax revenues. If I want to contest the value (since I didn't make any online purchases last year - really!), I need to fill out a completely different tax form and submit it with receipts to prove I don't owe as much. Not worth my time and aggravation. I must say they're getting quite creative, though.

I'm really surprised that nobody's challenged the legality of that yet.

I live in Rhode Island and there is no sales tax on food items, among other things. (I really think it is unconscionable to tax food!)

Try our state legislature's recent attempt with the "Tortilla Tax".

Our gov got rid of the food tax a few years ago (only good thing he's done in 7 years, but that's another rant). Some genius in the state legislature decided to try to get it put back on certain foods to help with the budget deficit.

But it wasn't going to be on all foods, just certain ones. Basically trying to legislate better eating with it. They wanted to base it off the WIC list. Which means that corn tortillas wouldn't be tax, but white flour tortillas would. (That begs the question of if flour would then be taxed.) That kind of idiocy. And there was no meat of any sort on the list.

King Bill used his line-item veto on it.

[Supermarket Slave Girl]

The taz gets put on luxury items suck as chocolate, chips things like that. Fruit and veg are GST free.

The one thing I don't get is why women's sanitary products are taxed, some clever dickhead thinks those things are a luxury item? Gee I can only wish.