This has been bothering me for a short while.
Going to the home brew store, if I buy malted barley, corn sugar, bitter orange peel, extract, and coriander, I am charged our state plus local sales tax of 8.1% (or so) on all of the food ingredients of making beer.
If I go to the grocery store and buy flour, sugar, coriander, and dried orange peel I don't pay taxes because these are food items.
If I buy these items in a slice of pie or a beer at a restaurant, I pay taxes again.
I asked the LHBS clerk if he knew (but he didn't understand the question) why....so I ask. Why do I have to pay taxes on food ingredients just because they are ingredients at a HBS rather than a grocery store?
Either the LHBS is adding a surcharge and keeping it, or the state is charging when they shouldn't be.....or if I add cane sugar from a grocery store, I am breaking tax laws.
How is it at your state and LHBS, and are there LHBS owners that can enlighten me on this issue.
I don't really mind paying taxes, but if I am buying flour, then, I should be paying taxes on that as well....or not at all....it is all unprepared food.
Going to the home brew store, if I buy malted barley, corn sugar, bitter orange peel, extract, and coriander, I am charged our state plus local sales tax of 8.1% (or so) on all of the food ingredients of making beer.
If I go to the grocery store and buy flour, sugar, coriander, and dried orange peel I don't pay taxes because these are food items.
If I buy these items in a slice of pie or a beer at a restaurant, I pay taxes again.
I asked the LHBS clerk if he knew (but he didn't understand the question) why....so I ask. Why do I have to pay taxes on food ingredients just because they are ingredients at a HBS rather than a grocery store?
Either the LHBS is adding a surcharge and keeping it, or the state is charging when they shouldn't be.....or if I add cane sugar from a grocery store, I am breaking tax laws.
How is it at your state and LHBS, and are there LHBS owners that can enlighten me on this issue.
I don't really mind paying taxes, but if I am buying flour, then, I should be paying taxes on that as well....or not at all....it is all unprepared food.