candy or food? confusion grows as new tax looms (link)
08.02.09 - chicago tribune - by ameet sachdev & bob secter

so you think you know what "candy" is? is it food? is it a sugary treat? is it anything you can find in the candy aisle? if you think you know, you might want to slow down there & think again, fair consumer. for years, scientists have devoted hours upon hours of lab time to defining what exactly makes something "candy," with little to no success. luckily for them, the state of illinois has come up with a definition, allowing the scientists to finally put down their bunsen burners & pocket protectors & relax with a candy bar or two or three.

as the chicago tribune reports, as part of revisions to the state sales tax, illinois has established a definition for candy, one that "demote(s) candy and soft drinks from the food group," allowing them to tax certain items at the higher, non-food rate. the revisions, which go into effect on september 1st, are designed "to help pay for a $31 billion public works program gov. pat quinn recently signed into law." with these changes, "sweets containing flour as an ingredient--and there are a lot of them--are not legally deemed to be candy, even if common sense and common taste say otherwise." oh arbitrary government regulation.

so what's considered candy? the tribune provides a few examples...hershey's bar? candy. hershey's cookies 'n' creme bar? nope. butterfinger? yep. butterfinger stixx? not candy. you put yogurt on fruit...you've got candy. you put it on a pretzel...not candy. for mom & pop stores, this causes a bit of a nightmare. whereas chain stores like wal-mart have a team of people who can easily determine which items to tax which way, the mom & pop stores have to have mom or pop do it. arthur paris, owner of lincoln park's carnival foods was quoted as saying "i anticipate having to make some arbitrary choices about what a high tax is and what a low tax [is]. it is virtually impossible for a one-horse shop like me to get this right." good luck, arthur! may the fair winds of chicago blow through your store!