Toilet Paper Tax Overcharge Leads to Lawsuit but Luckily No Teepeeing
For most people, a sales tax overcharge of 28 cents would not even be noticed. And even if noticed, it's rare to find a person that would see the store manager about a problem that seems so small. One woman in Pennsylvania says that an overcharge of 28 cents sales tax is a big deal, and she plans to go to court about it.
At first, when hearing this story, you'd be inclined to think this is a case of someone making a mountain out of a mole hill, but then again, maybe the problem needs someone to make a big deal about it so that it can be corrected.
On September 13, Mary Bach of Murrysville, Pennsylvania went to K-Mart and purchased a 12-pack of Angel Soft toilet tissue for $3.99. Under Pennsylvania law, toilet paper is not subject to sales tax. However, when Bach paid at the register, she noticed that she had been charged the 7 percent sales tax on the toilet tissue.
The mistake might have been, and likely was, a clerical error. Not all paper goods are tax exempt under Pennsylvania's sales tax code, but toilet paper is clearly listed as a non-taxable item. Apparently toilet paper at the K-Mart store was not scanning as a non-taxable item.
Bach mentioned the sales tax overcharge to the cashier. She said the cashier just shrugged, and didn't address the complaint. Since she was in a hurry that day, she didn't stay and argue about it. She paid for the toilet paper, tax and all, and left the store. However, she kept her receipt and decided to check the store again to see if it had been an isolated incident, or if they were overcharging everyone, all the time.
She returned to K-Mart the next day and was charged sales tax again when she bought toilet paper. This time she saw the store manager about the problem, but he offered no solution to the problem.
It is true that 28 cents is not a lot of money. In fact, it's so slight that most people wouldn't ever notice. Also, not everyone is versed in the state's tax code, so they would not even realize that they are being overcharged. The problem is, that when a retail giant like K-Mart is charging tax on a non-taxable item, that money adds up.
Three days after speaking with the manager of K-Mart and getting nowhere fast, Bach filed a small claims lawsuit in district court in Monroeville, Pennsylvania.
Bach is clearly not messing around. She says, "It's a black and white issue. All toilet tissue is non-taxable. It has nothing to do with how it is printed, colored, sold or packaged."
Bach is seeking $100 in damages, plus the court costs for violation of the state's Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law. The law allows plaintiffs to sue for the amount of damages or $100, whichever is greater. Since her total damages for the two times she was charged sales tax on toilet paper at K-Mart total just 56 cents, she is entitled to sue for $100.
Her lawsuit certainly can't be about the money. She says it is about a much bigger issue.
While Bach hasn't had the time to check on the practices of other K-Mart stores she does say, "If a major national retailer makes this kind of error and overcharges one customer 28 cents, that literally could add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars."
This is not Bach's first trip to court with a major retailer. For 25 years she has been challenging stores over scanning errors. Her consumer advocate actions have helped enact laws in Pennsylvania requiring scanner inspections by the state's Bureau of Weights and Measures.
Bach has previously sued Wal-Mart, CVS and the now-defunct Hechinger over price scanning errors. She has also wrangled with K-Mart three times before.
Back says that by filing lawsuits she hopes to bring attention to tax laws and encourage others to speak up when they find an error, even if it does amount to only a few cents.
