As of 6/21/2015:
- Sales tax is charged on order sent to California because Pooki's Mahi's is headquartered in San Francisco, CA.
- No sales tax is charged on food items. If an item is a combination of a non-taxable food item and a taxable non-food item, then California state law requires that we collect a prorated tax based on the ratio of the value of the food item and the non-food item.
- The final confirmation page displayed (during the Checkout process) shows the sales tax charged (collected) on the order.
As of 6/6/2015: Pooki's Mahi escalated the collection of sales taxes for customers based in California to Pooki's Mahi's tax attorneys and will update this article with the next steps.
This impacts orders shipping to California addressees only.
Current Operating Procedure:
- Pooki's Mahi is required to charge sales tax because we have a physical presence in California. Pooki's Mahi's is headquartered in San Francisco, CA.
- 99% of Pooki's Mahi's sales are outside of California and through Pooki's Mahi's Wholesale, Distributor and Branded sales channels.
- Pooki's Mahi has 1 non-food and beverage product (EKOBrew Keurig adaptor).
- Pooki's Mahi's e/mcommerce system is binary in collecting sales taxes for California: collect sales tax for all items vs. Do not collect sales tax for all items.
Pooki's Mahi's CEO is working to resolve this immediately.
State of California: Sales and Tax Regulation
ARTICLE 8. FOOD PRODUCTS
Regulation 1602. FOOD PRODUCTS.
Reference: Sections 6091, 6353, and 6359, Revenue and Taxation Code.
California Constitution, Article XIII, Section 34.
(a) IN GENERAL. Tax does not apply to sales of food products for human consumption except as provided in Regulations 1503, 1574, and 1603. (Grocers, in particular, should note that tax applies to sales of "hot prepared food products" as provided in Regulation 1603(e).)
(1) "Food products" include cereal and cereal products, including malt and malt extracts, milk and milk products, including ice cream, ice milk and ice cream and ice milk novelties, sherbets, imitation ice cream and imitation ice milk, dried milk products, sugar of milk, milk shakes, malted milks, and any other similar type beverages composed at least in part of milk or a milk product and requiring the use of milk or a milk product in their preparation, oleomargarine, meat and meat products, fish and fish products, eggs and egg products, vegetables and vegetable products, including dehydrated vegetables, fruit and fruit products, spices and salt, coffee and coffee substitutes, tea, cocoa and cocoa products, sugar and sugar products, baby foods, bakery products, marshmallows, baking powder, baking soda, cream of tartar, coconut, flavoring extracts, flour, gelatin, jelly powders, mustard, nuts, peanut butter, sauces, soups, syrups (for use as an ingredient of, or upon, food products as defined herein), yeast cakes, olive oil, bouillon cubes, meat extracts, popcorn, honey, jams, jellies, certo, mayonnaise, and flavored ice products, including popsicles and snow cones. "Food products" include candy, confectionery, and chewing gum.
References:
Current Calculations, Collections - Sales Tax:
It depends on where the customer lives. Pooki's Mahi has to charge the sales tax as required by law based on the "ship to" location. Pooki's Mahi will only collect tax amounts required by law, which may include merchandise and other services such as gift wrap and shipping. If the "ship to" location is California, then an additional charge for sales tax is required.
Estimated Taxes
Many factors can change between the time an order is placed and the time the order is shipped. The amount appearing on the order as "Estimated Tax" may differ from the sales taxes ultimately changed.
Sales Tax Information
The amount of tax charged for the order depends upon many factors, including:
- The identity and location of Pooki's Mahi
- The location of the customer
- The type of item purchased
- The destination of the shipment (order) (the "ship to" location)
How Sales Tax Is Calculated
If an item is subject to sales or use tax in the state to which it is shipped, tax is generally calculated on its total selling price. In accordance with state tax laws, the total selling price of an item generally includes item-level shipping and handling charges, discounts and gift-wrap charges, and an allocation of order-level shipping and handling charges and discounts.
The tax rate applied to the order will generally be the combined state and locate rate for the address where your order is approved or shipped. Therefore, the tax rate applied to the order may be different for an order shipped to the home address than it is for an order for the very same items shipped to the work address.
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