Weirdest Sales Taxes of 2014
Published December 18, 2014 5:32 PM
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Updated December 20, 2014 2:16 PM
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Walking in a Taxable Wonderland
If California residents want a White Christmas, it requires artificial snow. But since this is a manmade product, it is subject to tax, unlike the real deal. According to California code, the manufacture of artificial snow at a customer's site is considered a sale of tangible personal property. The true object desired by the customer is the snow, and not the service of making the snow, making it a product subject to sales tax.
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Space - Alaskas Untaxable Frontier
Alaska has created a blanket sales and use tax exemption for goods and services related to space flight, as well as any tangible personal property that is launched, or intended to be launched, into space, regardless of whether it returns to Earth. Thus, an elegant Alaskan tax dodge involves telling Amazon to ship all your purchases via low-Earth orbit.
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Washington Denies Marijuana Food and Agriculture Tax Exemption
Even though Washington voters legalized the recreational use of marijuana, recent tax law written by the states Department of Revenue intends to remove any economic incentives to buy or cultivate the product. Washington regulators have declared that, for sales tax purposes, marijuana is neither a food ingredient nor an agricultural product. As a food ingredient or agricultural product, it would have enjoyed an exemption from sales tax. Instead, it is subject to not only sales tax, but also a 25 percent excise tax at wholesale and retail.
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Tax Holidays for Health, But Not for College Meal Plans
In North Carolina, college students are now required to pay sales tax on university meal plans, making the pitfalls of the dreaded freshman fifteen even more painful. But if youre headed back to Washington, D.C., for winter break, dont worry. Personal trainers hired by an individual in the District are not subject to tax if separately stated from taxable charges at the time of transaction.
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