La Contessa closing?

[unbelman.livejournal.com]

I've heard that La Contessa is closing and turing into a Sushi place

confirm or deny?

Comments

[ron_newman]

but I don't know why coffee would be subject to sales tax if pastries aren't.

[heliograph.livejournal.com]

That's part of the headache.

Staples (grocery store food) isn't taxed. However, packaged or prepared food is. If you buy bread and meat and make your own sandwich, no tax. If you buy a sandwich someone else made, you pay tax.

If you bought coffee beans? No tax. But if someone brews it and hands it to you? Tax.

These aren't the terms the state uses, but that's the general idea. I would imagine most of the stuff they sell doesn't count as prepared or packaged food and doesn't draw the meals tax, but coffee definitely would.

Taxing

[bostonartist.livejournal.com]

Helliograph;

You are exactly right. They should be charging 5% sales tax on the coffee sales and then once a week or once a month (depending on how much they collect) fill our a form (or do it online) and turn the $ over to the State. Its really not a big deal. I run a small business and do it.

Re: Taxing

[heliograph.livejournal.com]

It is a little more complicated for them, potentially. The state will compare their total take with what they're paying taxes on, and then they have to justify why cookies or canolis aren't packaged foods but coffee is. It draws fewer audits if everything you sell is exempt.