You may have heard about a recently uncovered NY sales tax for sliced bagels (as opposed to not sliced). The Wall Street Journal reports "In New York, the sale of whole bagels isn't subject to sales tax. But the tax does apply to 'sliced or prepared bagels (with cream cheese or other toppings),' according to the state Department of Taxation and Finance. And if the bagel is eaten in the store, even if it's never been touched by a knife, it's also taxed."
So who was the poor bagel shop owner who learned about this tax the hard way? Kenneth Greene, who owns 33 Bruegger's Bagels franchises in NY, was told he needed to start charging taxes "on all bagels, except for those that remain intact and are consumed off premises," and on top of that demanded he pay a "'significant' sum in taxes that the state estimated he owed." Greene said the the extra taxes, roughly 8˘ a bagel, has set off a few of his customers who thought they were "nickel-and-diming them. They thought we were charging them to slice a bagel."
