Some Massachusetts shoppers wrongly taxed on food ordered on Walgreens website
BOSTON - Massachusetts shoppers should pay attention to the details of their orders when shopping online.
Consumer advocate Edgar Dworsky discovered he was improperly charged sales tax when he ordered cookies online from Walgreens.com. When he picked up the order from his local store, the receipt showed a sales tax of $1.79. But in Massachusetts, food is not taxed.
Dworsky, the founder of Consumerworld.org, decided to test out other items to see if they too were taxed and discovered many other food items were also taxed. When he reached out to Walgreens, they confirmed there was a mistake and corrected the problem. They also confirmed that the extra tax was being added to many products.
"It was all cookies and crackers, and on top of that, some snack foods like Twinkies. They had miscategorized these products as baked goods, and, believe it or not, in Massachusetts, some baked goods can be taxed," Dworsky told WBZ-TV.
Walgreens refunded Dworsky's tax and, when WBZ-TV reached out, they promised to make good for other consumers as well.
In a statement, a spokesperson said:
"If customers believe they have been impacted and are now owed a sales tax refund, please contact 877-250-5823 for assistance. We ask that impacted customers who call this number have on hand the order number found on their receipt to assist with the query.
To help offset future instances like this, our team is working on a communication to be sent to all store leadership. Walgreens does not profit off sales tax errors of this kind, as all tax collected is turned over to the state and local taxing authorities."