Comments on: Fix the Tax Code Friday: Exempting “Real” Food from Tax http://www.taxgirl.com/fix-the-tax-code-friday-exempting-real-food-from-tax/ Paying taxes is painful... but reading about them shouldn't be. Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:16:58 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: Kelly http://www.taxgirl.com/fix-the-tax-code-friday-exempting-real-food-from-tax/comment-page-1/#comment-10474 Kelly Sun, 24 May 2009 12:35:43 +0000 http://www.taxgirl.com/?p=3393#comment-10474 My dad would argue with you on that one. He loves anchovies! My dad would argue with you on that one. He loves anchovies!

]]> By: Urbie http://www.taxgirl.com/fix-the-tax-code-friday-exempting-real-food-from-tax/comment-page-1/#comment-10468 Urbie Sat, 23 May 2009 10:50:40 +0000 http://www.taxgirl.com/?p=3393#comment-10468 I would add anchovies to the "taxed" list -- those are pet food! Urb I would add anchovies to the “taxed” list — those are pet food!

Urb

]]> By: JBruce http://www.taxgirl.com/fix-the-tax-code-friday-exempting-real-food-from-tax/comment-page-1/#comment-10466 JBruce Fri, 22 May 2009 20:19:13 +0000 http://www.taxgirl.com/?p=3393#comment-10466 Here in Arkansas our beloved state government decided to cut the sales tax on food and medicines in half (That's right -- unlike most states, we still pay sales tax on groceries: just not as much as we used to!). So we, like every other place that exempts food from some or all sales tax, have to have a definition of "food". I don't know the elaborate ins and outs, except that in grocery stores "prepared food" doesn't get the exemption. Apparently prepared food is ready to eat, due to some form of preparation by somebody. So oranges and apples are exempt, but fruit salad isn't. Raw chicken is exempt, fried chicken isn't. Raw bacon is exempt, but I don't honestly know about that heat-and-eat cooked bacon stuff. Bread is exempt even though it obviously is "prepared" from other, more basic, ingredients. Everything in a restaurant is fully taxed. In spite of all this gibberish, I honestly don't have an answer for the actual question: what is food? Except that I would never include eggplant. Here in Arkansas our beloved state government decided to cut the sales tax on food and medicines in half (That’s right — unlike most states, we still pay sales tax on groceries: just not as much as we used to!).

So we, like every other place that exempts food from some or all sales tax, have to have a definition of “food”. I don’t know the elaborate ins and outs, except that in grocery stores “prepared food” doesn’t get the exemption. Apparently prepared food is ready to eat, due to some form of preparation by somebody. So oranges and apples are exempt, but fruit salad isn’t. Raw chicken is exempt, fried chicken isn’t. Raw bacon is exempt, but I don’t honestly know about that heat-and-eat cooked bacon stuff. Bread is exempt even though it obviously is “prepared” from other, more basic, ingredients.

Everything in a restaurant is fully taxed.

In spite of all this gibberish, I honestly don’t have an answer for the actual question: what is food? Except that I would never include eggplant.

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