On Thu, 21 Aug 2008 12:51:24 -0700, Samantha Hill - remove TRASH to
reply wrote:

George wrote:

Same here. If you buy a loaf of bread and a pound of cheese it isn't
taxable. If you buy a sandwich at the deli it is. It gets a little
bizarre with other things. Certain types of wrapping paper/film and bags
for example are taxable and others aren't.

The most ludicrous sales tax policy I ever heard of was when we were
driving from Pennsylvania to Georgia, and my mom went in a store in some
state to buy a pair of socks. The clerk asked if the socks were for
someone over or under the age of 14 (or some teenage, under-18 number),
and my mom asked why and was told that clothing for people on one side
of the number was taxed and for people on the other side of the number
wasn't -- I forget which was which at this point; I was a very young
child then. My mom asked the clerk if that meant that clothing for
[whichever age group had their clothing taxed] was optional.

Did the clerk laugh?

My mother used to joke with the clerks from the 1930's to the 1970's
and she finally gave up, because they never got it. They always gave
her a serious, blank look.