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.-- ldischler, Dec 31 2005 2005 state sales tax rates http://www.taxadmin...fta/rate/sales.htmlOnly Virginia, Tennessee, and Missouri have a state sales tax on food. [Shz, Jan 01 2006] Or just move to a state that doesn't tax food.-- DrCurry, Dec 31 2005 Or just move to a state that doesn't tax.-- humanbean, Dec 31 2005 Warren Buffet?-- bristolz, Dec 31 2005 i just might try this-- benfrost, Dec 31 2005 Moving? Or eating in another state?-- DrCurry, Dec 31 2005 Altered state?-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Jan 01 2006 Having been around a bit, never noticing a state sales tax on food, curiosity kicked in. <link>-- Shz, Jan 01 2006 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.-- Zuzu, Jan 01 2006 I dunno, tax evasion over state lines; that could be a federal offense.-- MikeOxbig, Jan 01 2006 [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.]-- DrCurry, Jan 01 2006 "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-- ldischler, Jan 01 2006 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.
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.-- Shz, Jan 03 2006 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.-- hippo, Jan 03 2006 actually this would be a nifty music festival thing-- beanangel, Feb 04 2012 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.
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.
*or were last I knew; it's been changing pretty frequently of late.
<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.>-- Alterother, Feb 04 2012 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.
"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.-- AusCan531, Feb 04 2012 random, halfbakery