Petco deal tank- $1 per gallon

[rebelson]

They have. Picked up a 20H tonight and was charged the appropriate tax.

 

[MatthewScars]

Mods -any chance you could... moderate and combine these two threads?

http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/general-discussion/103831-petco-dollar-gallon-sale.html

http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/general-discussion/15474-petco-deal-tank-1-per-gallon-7.html

 

[cmantis]

I just got back from Petco and purchased 2 40g tanks. I was charged tax on the normal price. I argued but they said that was policy and even had a printout on the register. However I looked and found this:

If the item is on sale at a reduced price, or with a store coupon issued by the seller, sales tax is charged on the reduced priced.

If the reduced price is the result of a manufacturer's reimbursement, such as a manufacturer's coupon or rebate or any other third-party's reimbursement, then the sales tax is charged on the full price of the item without regard to the reimbursement to the seller.
See Tax Bulletin ST-140 (TB-ST-140) Coupons and Food Stamps.

I just checked my receipt and where the discount line is it says "PALS MFG CPN" WTF? This is a manufacturers coupon from Aqueon it is a sale by Petco. Are they just doing this to rip off customers?

Tax issue update:
When anyone in NY (not sure about other states) bought their $1/gallon tanks at Petco, they charged sales tax based on the original retail price. Not the actual price you paid ($1/gallon).

Buy one 33 gallon cube for $33 and it's not a real big deal. Approx. tax on $33 is $2.68. The normal retail is $150 and the tax on that is $12.19. The difference is ~ $10

Well I bought four tanks that day. They charged me $46.79 MORE in tax than they were due. I complained to them and they said there is nothing they can do. I took the tanks and paid the excessive tax anyway. I knew I was going to refute it to their corporate office. I got nowhere with them. They said their legal department advised them to collect tax in this manner.

So I called the NYS Dept of Taxation & Finance. They said that Petco was doing nothing illegal, providing that they were paying the collected tax to the state of NY. They said I could file form AU-11 Application for Credit or Refund of Sales or Use Tax.

I filed the form and yesterday I received a check in the mail for $46.79 reimbursing me for the excessive tax collected. Basically what this boils down to is this. Anybody can charge you whatever tax they want. If they submit that amount of tax to the state, they are doing nothing wrong. If at the end of the fiscal quarter, they calculate the amount of sales and submit only the 'correct' tax to the state, then that is illegal. If they submit what they collected, the state will accept it and they collect exhorbitant amounts of tax (my tax came to $57.68 on a $134.00 purchase = 43% tax rate!!!). If you file for a refund, they'll gladly give it to you. If you don't submit for a refund (and I suspect most people don't go through the trouble) then the state pads its coffers without question.

I've taken the time to search for the form AU-11 online and offer the to anyone who wishes to submit the claim. It took me 5 minutes to fill out the form. Good luck and post your success here. :thrash:

swimmer