Thread: Somebody wants to tax my Snickers?

So wait...they don't want to legalize weed, which they can make much more revenue off of, but they want to tax our junk food? What makes junk food anyway? Would a granola bar be junk food? It has sugar? What about trail mix? It has m&m's in it. Where is the line drawn? If soda is taxed what about powerade, v water ect...
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Originally Posted by 20lucfan

So wait...they don't want to legalize weed, which they can make much more revenue off of, but they want to tax our junk food? What makes junk food anyway? Would a granola bar be junk food? It has sugar? What about trail mix? It has m&m's in it. Where is the line drawn? If soda is taxed what about powerade, v water ect...
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If they legalized and taxed weed, they'd only make income off of the potheads. If they tax the junk food, they know that once the potheads smoke out, they're going to get the munchies and buy the junk food. So they've got the potheads anyway. But by taxing the junk food, they've also got the fatties by the cajones.


Illinois has already started doing this...

Originally Posted by http://illinoispolicyinstitute.org/news/article.asp?ArticleSource=1406

Starting Tuesday, soft drinks and candy will be taxed at the 6.25 state sales tax rate (plus any local tax add-ons). Until now, they fell under the 1 percent food sales tax. Soda, flavored water, sports drinks, gum, breath mints, and chocolate bars are some of the items that will be hit with higher taxes.

Alcohol excise taxes are in line for a hike as well, even though Illinois’s rates are already high for the region. The excise tax on a gallon of beer is now 23 cents, up 24 percent from 18.5 cents a gallon. A gallon of wine will now be taxed at $1.39, up 90 percent from $0.73. The new tax on a gallon of spirits is $8.55, up 90 percent from $4.50. That’s equal to a 2.6-cent increase on a six-pack of beer, a 13-cent increase on a bottle of wine, and an 81-cent increase on a fifth of liquor.

Personal grooming items like shampoo, deodorant, and toothpaste have traditionally been taxed under a 1 percent medication sales tax. They’ll now be taxed at the 6.25 state sales tax rate (local add-ons apply here, as well).

But they also seem to be having a few issues with what is candy and what is food...

Originally Posted by http://www.suntimes.com/business/1748198,CST-FIN-TAX02.article

A quick check of how retailers are applying Illinois' new sales tax law that took effect Tuesday shows that knowing what to count as candy vs. food will be a bit of a challenge.

Candy used to be considered food and taxed at a lower rate than other merchandise, but it no longer is exempt from the state sales tax. Now it is taxed the full rate -- 10.25 percent in downtown Chicago. But what counts as candy vs. food?

The law's definition of candy is simple, but it contains this exception: "Items that contain flour or require refrigeration are not considered candy."

A quick test of the law Tuesday produced mixed results. While Twix, the chocolate-covered, caramel "cookie bars" carried in the candy aisle of most stores, lists flour as its third ingredient, it was taxed differently at different stores.

On Tuesday, four downtown retailers taxed Twix as candy, and four taxed them as food. One other retailer warned that the Twix would be charged a higher tax rate the next day, because she hadn't yet started charging the new rate on candy. Told Twix wouldn't qualify as candy, she was surprised and confused.

Twix isn't the only tricky item. KitKat bars and some other candy-aisle confections also contain flour. Yet treats containing peanut butter, a popular "food," are still, by law, candy.