Petco Health and Wellness Company, Inc. sells food, supplies, and toys for pets. It often uses store or manufacturers’ coupons and rewards discounts or coupons. But the complaint for this Pennsylvania class action alleges that Petco improperly charges sales tax on the full, non-discounted price of the items purchased, instead of on the sale or post-coupon price.
Two classes have been defined for this action:
- The General Class for this action is all individuals who (a) on or after November 8, 2016, bought any item from a Petco store in Pennsylvania who were subject to sales tax, (b) received any discount on the item or items via a discount, coupon, store coupon, or manufacturer’s coupon, and (c) was charged or paid sales tax on the original price of the item, without Petco’s first having deducted the amount of the discount before calculating the sales tax due.
- The FCEUA Class is a subclass of the General Class who (a) on or after November 8, 2016, bought any item from a Petco store in Allegheny of Philadelphia Counties who were subject to sales tax, (b) received any discount on the item or items via a discount, coupon, store coupon, or manufacturer’s coupon, and (c) was charged or paid sales tax on the original price of the item, without Petco’s first having deducted the amount of the discount before calculating the sales tax due.
Noah R. Jordan, the plaintiff for this class action, shops at Petco stores in Pennsylvania. For example, on June 25, 2021, he shopped at a Petco on East Waterfront Drive in Homestead, Pennsylvania and bought a 35-pound bag of Hills Science Adult Dog Food. At the register, he gave the cashier a $5 manufacturer’s coupon and a $9 Petco Pals Rewards discount coupon.
The receipt for the transaction shows a description of the item and its universal product code (UPC), which the register read electronically. The two coupons were also read electronically, with those amounts showing up on the receipt as well, and then a new purchase price for the dog food with the value of the coupons subtracted.
The sales tax required in the area was 7%—that is, 6% Pennsylvania sales tax plus 1% Allegheny County sales tax.
Jordan was charged $4.47 in sales tax. This represents 7% of the original purchase pre-coupon price of $63.95, rather than 7% of the actual purchase price of $49.99.
According to the complaint, Pennsylvania Department of Revenue regulations “specifically exclude the amount of discounts attributable to coupons from the imposition of sales tax if both the item purchased and the coupon itself are described on the cash register tape.”
Both the dog food item and the coupon discounts are described on the register tape in this case, which was attached to the complaint when it was filed as Exhibit 1.
Jordan claims he did not discover the sales tax overcharge until after he had left the store and begun using the dog food he’d purchased.
Article Type: LawsuitTopic: Taxes
Most Recent Case Event
Petco Sales Tax Charged on Pre-Coupon Prices Pennsylvania Complaint
December 23, 2021
Petco Health and Wellness Company, Inc. sells food, supplies, and toys for pets. It often uses store or manufacturers’ coupons and rewards discounts or coupons. But the complaint for this Pennsylvania class action alleges that Petco improperly charges sales tax on the full, non-discounted price of the items purchased, instead of on the sale or post-coupon price.
Petco Sales Tax Charged on Pre-Coupon Prices Pennsylvania ComplaintCase Event History
Petco Sales Tax Charged on Pre-Coupon Prices Pennsylvania Complaint
December 23, 2021
Petco Health and Wellness Company, Inc. sells food, supplies, and toys for pets. It often uses store or manufacturers’ coupons and rewards discounts or coupons. But the complaint for this Pennsylvania class action alleges that Petco improperly charges sales tax on the full, non-discounted price of the items purchased, instead of on the sale or post-coupon price.
Petco Sales Tax Charged on Pre-Coupon Prices Pennsylvania Complaint