Stupid tax question

purpleTJchick

purpleTJchick

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 6, 2005
Location
Durham
My dad came up to me all in a huff about Walmart charging a 2 percent tax on top of the 7.5 percent. I always assumed it was food tax because of the letters that is only beside food products on receipts. well he did the math and said that can't be it because if it was it would come up differntly. I can not seem to find out on google and was wondering if anyone knows were this info is.

thanx
 
A 2% rate applies to retail sales and "qualifying" food. Food that the government deems healthy and necessary isn't subject to the tax. Food that the government thinks is bad for you is subject to additional taxation.
 
It's prepared food, soda, snacks, candy, stuff like that.

Check the receipt next time you go to Wendy's or something -- total tax on fast food runs just under 10%.
 
saf-t scissors said:
It's prepared food, soda, snacks, candy, stuff like that.

Check the receipt next time you go to Wendy's or something -- total tax on fast food runs just under 10%.
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How can that be - a $1 burger at McD's or BK only comes to $1.07 (or maybe $1.08) - I am sure of that...
 
The State of North Carolina rule is that food other than 'prepared food' is subject to only the 2% food tax as opposed to the 7.5% 'sales and use tax'... stuff like candy, soda, fast food, vending machines are all subject to the full rate.

The counties charge additional taxes... such as on those same 'prepared' type food items. "Local" tax is different depending on where you are... but that's where the 7.5% plus whatever% comes from. I checked the couple of recent receipts in my wallet for lunches or whatever and it's 8.75% here in Raleigh/Wake County.
 
^^^^ Yes, and I believe in the Republic of Charlotte (City) the tax may be near 10% downtown / uptown...
 
I have a question... and don't mean to thread hijack or turn this into a political discussion but...

I moved here from Texas about four years ago. I love Texas but let me tell you, I love it here too. In Texas we had no income tax... only a sales tax. And like this thread is about, a tax on prepared foods. I think that regular food wasn't taxed at all. There is a sales tax on your car but only when you buy it, not a yearly property tax.

Here in NC, we have an income tax, plus a sales tax and the tax on prepared foods... and then the taxes on everything else...personal property tax paid yearly, etc. Heck, they even tax your refund the next year as income. Didn't I already pay taxes on that income once before?

Anyway, I'm just wondering how the folks of NC let it get this far. I do love it here, but this state taxes you to death.

Please, don't tell me to go back to Texas... I really do love it here. Not trying to bash, just curious.

Doug
 
weirdodaddy said:
I have a question... and don't mean to thread hijack or turn this into a political discussion but...

I moved here from Texas about four years ago. I love Texas but let me tell you, I love it here too. In Texas we had no income tax... only a sales tax. And like this thread is about, a tax on prepared foods. I think that regular food wasn't taxed at all. There is a sales tax on your car but only when you buy it, not a yearly property tax.

Here in NC, we have an income tax, plus a sales tax and the tax on prepared foods... and then the taxes on everything else...personal property tax paid yearly, etc. Heck, they even tax your refund the next year as income. Didn't I already pay taxes on that income once before?

Anyway, I'm just wondering how the folks of NC let it get this far. I do love it here, but this state taxes you to death.

Please, don't tell me to go back to Texas... I really do love it here. Not trying to bash, just curious.

Doug
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This states legislature has been blue for decades, to answer your question. Too many (PC term) "low income" people looking for hand outs. How do we pay for those handouts? You guessed it, taxes.

Hopefully things will start to turn around now that the state government is red, but I have my doubts.
 
13bullets said:
This states legislature has been blue for decades, to answer your question. Too many (PC term) "low income" people looking for hand outs. How do we pay for those handouts? You guessed it, taxes.
Hopefully things will start to turn around now that the state government is red, but I have my doubts.
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Yet up here in the very blue state of Maryland, even here we do not have this level of sales tax. We have a difference for prepared vs unprepared food, but the total never exceeds the state sales tax.

Now they get us in many other ways - technically the state income tax is much lower, but we also pay a county/local tax, which together exceed NC. And even though there is no annual property tax on vehicles (woohoo!), our bi-annual vehicle registration fees are considerably higher as are local property (home) taxes.

They are just more creative about how they get the $$.

IIRC the taxes in NC have been steadily rising, claimed in part to be due to the massive budget shortfall, and the need for improving the road infrastructure, which is way better now than 2 decades ago.
 
NC has one of the highest gas taxes as well. Part of the reason is that NCDOT is responsible for more road miles than every other state except Texas. In other states the County is also in the road business (for local and neighborhood streets not already covered by a town/city) while the state handles only the larger corridors.
 
I am allll for getting rid of property tax. Do you every really own anything if you have to pay for it yearly and if you don't they take it away?
 
I grumble every year that I have to pay for my tags here until I realize in NY were a lot my friends still live there are paying nearly 4,000 a year for property tax on the same valuation that I am only paying $1100 so that $300 a year I pay extra to tag my cars really isnt that bad. Plus the insane amount of money for taxes on cigs and other items up there. We really dont have it too bad.

Dave
 
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