JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 Ready-to-drink coffees are more popular than ever, and they\u2019re supposed to be exempt from sales tax in Florida.<\/p>\n
But we found some of the biggest convenience store chains are charging that tax, and it\u2019s likely been happening for decades.<\/p>\n
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <\/b><\/a><\/p>\n \u201cFor some years now, I\u2019ve been enjoying Starbucks. It\u2019s like a double-shot coffee,\u201d Paul Olkowski said.<\/p>\n But when loading up on his favorite java, Olkowski thought it was strange Walgreens didn\u2019t charge tax, but a nearby RaceTrac did.<\/p>\n Two cans for $6; his receipt shows 42 cents tax.<\/p>\n \u201cIt wouldn\u2019t make any sense to me that store \u2018A\u2019 has sales tax, and the store across the street doesn\u2019t,\u201d Olkowski said.<\/p>\n He spent months calling the Florida Department of Revenue, which sent a letter confirming, \u201cCoffee and coffee substitutes are food products … and are therefore exempt from sales tax in Florida.\u201d<\/p>\n The state sent us a list of 44 specific coffee drinks that are not supposed to be taxed, including the one Olkowski bought.<\/p>\n They look real, but these counterfeit car seats aren\u2019t built to save lives<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n We put Central and Northeast Florida stores to the test. At an Orlando 7-Eleven, we picked up bottled Frappuccinos.<\/p>\n And another at Cumberland Farms in West Melbourne, some java drinks at Circle K in Clermont.<\/p>\n Then a canned vanilla latte at a Wawa in Orlando. We also bought coffee drinks at a Wawa and a Gate in Jacksonville and a Circle K outside St. Augustine.<\/p>\n Every single convenience store we tested charged us sales tax when they weren\u2019t supposed to.<\/p>\n Action News Jax Investigates: <\/b>The top 5 roads in Jacksonville with the most pothole problems<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n \u201cTaxes are high enough, and now we\u2019re paying sales tax on things that shouldn\u2019t be taxed?\u201d Olkowski said.<\/p>\n The state told us the best way to get a refund is to go back to the seller. But when Olkowski tried that, RaceTrac called the Lake County Sheriff\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n Olkowski said the deputies were very professional and seemed to just be doing their jobs, but they are heard warning him on body camera video that, \u201cIf you return, you\u2019ll be arrested.\u201d<\/p>\n That came even though the RaceTrac manager admitted to deputies, \u201cIf you go to any gas station, we all charge tax on coffee products.\u201d<\/p>\n Are you a supertaster or just picky this Thanksgiving?<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n RaceTrac shared this statement:<\/p>\n \u201cAs required by law, RaceTrac collects sales tax from guests and remits those funds each month to the Florida Department of Revenue. RaceTrac serves merely as a pass-through for these taxes and does not retain any portion of the tax collected.<\/p>\n \u201cFlorida\u2019s tax code is complex, and products often do not fit cleanly between the lines of taxable and non-taxable, and RaceTrac\u2019s prior sales tax application reflected a different interpretation of how that product should be taxed under that code. At no time did RaceTrac believe it was not in compliance with the tax code nor did it profit from any overcollections. Similar interpretations appear to have been common across the retail industry.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce a different position on the taxability of the product was brought to our attention, we sought clarification from the Florida Department of Revenue (DOR) and promptly updated our systems across all Florida locations upon receiving guidance from the DOR.<\/p>\n Pok\u00e9mon Paydays: The similarities between the trading card hobby and gambling<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n We went back to a couple of RaceTrac stores in central Florida and confirmed they are no longer charging sales tax on these coffee drinks.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s certainly eyebrow raising and eye popping,\u201d said David McGarry, with the non-profit group Taxpayers Protection Alliance.<\/p>\n The group works on a wide range of economic, regulatory, and legal issues that involve taxation. McGarry believes in this situation, most of the blame rests with the complex wording of Florida\u2019s tax code rather than enforcement by the Department of Revenue. Still, he noted this is an unusual instance of many stores violating the tax code.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019d be impossible to identify everyone who\u2019s overpaid, I would think, and it would be almost as difficult, if not impossible, to ensure that they got their money back,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Bridal betrayal: Florida lawmaker working to help women escape sham marriages<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n Olkowski said, \u201cWhen you total that up in over 9000 convenience stores throughout the State of Florida, there\u2019s millions of dollars that are going somewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n Florida law separated coffee drinks from soft drinks, which are taxable, more than 40 years ago, but aside from RaceTrac, none of the convenience stores we visited seemed to know that.<\/p>\n We spoke with an Orlando Wawa manager about it. <\/p>\n \u201cWe were here earlier and noticed you guys are charging sales tax on coffee drinks.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Flying fakers\u2019: Growing number of travelers accused of abusing airport wheelchair services<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n The manager made a phone call and then issued a refund for the sales tax.<\/p>\n Olkowski wishes his experience were that pleasant.<\/p>\n On the sheriff\u2019s office body camera video, the manager of the RaceTrac near Minneola told deputies Olkowski had been to the store several times and said, \u201cHe can (expletive) sue RaceTrac. I don\u2019t give a (expletive). It\u2019s not my problem.\u201d<\/p>\n Olkowski said RaceTrac never apologized, and he\u2019s still waiting for his 42-cent refund.<\/p>\n [DOWNLOAD: <\/b>Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks<\/b><\/a>]<\/b><\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re the only person that had the decency to shed some light on this,\u201d he told Consumer Investigator Jeff Deal.<\/p>\n None of the other stores would comment on why they were charging tax when the coffee drinks are supposed to be exempt.<\/p>\n It\u2019s worth noting, if consumers buy the same ready-to-drink coffees from cafes or vending machines, they are supposed to be taxed. The rules are complicated, which could be why so many convenience stores are doing it incorrectly.<\/p>\n Consumers can learn more about the taxability of food products with this list from the Florida Department of Revenue:\u00a0<\/b>Nontaxable Medical Items and General Grocery List<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n [SIGN UP: <\/b>Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter<\/b><\/a>] <\/b><\/p>\n Again, the Florida Department of Revenue recommends getting a refund directly from the seller. If the seller declines to issue a refund, it gets much more complicated and time-consuming. <\/p>\n The customer can ask the seller to issue what\u2019s called an Assignment of Rights Refund of Tax form (Form DR-26A) with the amount of tax the store collected from the customer. <\/p>\n The customer will then send that form and any supporting documentation to the state to receive a refund directly from the state. Here\u2019s a link to more detailed instructions:\u00a0<\/b>DOR Instructions for Refund<\/b><\/a>\u00a0<\/b>and here\u2019s a link to that form:\u00a0<\/b>Assignment of Rights to Refund of Tax\u00a0<\/b>form<\/b><\/a>.<\/p>\n RaceTrac has set up a specific email address for its customers to request that form. They can make the request at this email address:\u00a0<\/b>salestaxrefunds@racetrac.com<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n Click here<\/b><\/a> to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, <\/b>click here<\/b><\/a> to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and <\/b>click here<\/b><\/a> to stream Action News Jax live.<\/b><\/p>\n Action News Jax Top Stories<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 Ready-to-drink coffees are more popular than ever, and they\u2019re supposed to be exempt from sales…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":404714,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5136],"tags":[191117,16628,12189,5229,10891,12877,191115,191119,191114,3188,723,7310,191112,9024,191121,33783,425,65349,64442,6063,191118,351,191113,11923,80231,22195,13818,191120,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,65813,65053,191116],"class_list":{"0":"post-404713","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jacksonville","8":"tag-_claremont","9":"tag-7-eleven","10":"tag-action_news","11":"tag-america","12":"tag-central","13":"tag-circle_k","14":"tag-cumberland_farms","15":"tag-david_mcgarry","16":"tag-department_of_revenue","17":"tag-fl","18":"tag-florida","19":"tag-jacksonville","20":"tag-jacque_jedio","21":"tag-java","22":"tag-jeff_deal","23":"tag-joe","24":"tag-local","25":"tag-mineola","26":"tag-northeast_florida","27":"tag-orlando","28":"tag-owawah","29":"tag-paul","30":"tag-paul_okowski","31":"tag-racetrack","32":"tag-saint_augustine","33":"tag-starbucks","34":"tag-taneka","35":"tag-taxpayers_protection_alliance","36":"tag-united-states","37":"tag-united-states-of-america","38":"tag-unitedstates","39":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","40":"tag-us","41":"tag-usa","42":"tag-walgreens","43":"tag-wawa","44":"tag-west_melbourne"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/404713","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=404713"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/404713\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/404714"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=404713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=404713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=404713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}