A customer in Willoughby, Ohio was charged sales tax on a purchase during the state’s sales tax holiday, which started Tuesday. Beth Poje reported that GameStop charged her $17.51 in sales tax on a $241.48 purchase, despite the tax exemption in place for the holiday. The store manager refused to refund her, claiming that the tax was correct. WKYC found that the customer was also charged the wrong tax rate of $7.25%, instead of the correct rate of 7% in Lake County, which was lowered on July 1.
GameStop was reportedly not charging sales tax on orders from its website, gamestop.com. The Ohio sales tax holiday, which runs through August 8, covers a wide range of “tangible personal property” under $500, not just school supplies. The Ohio Department of Taxation mentioned that the videogame and controller purchased by Poje should have qualified for a sales tax exemption.
Despite attempts by WKYC to get answers from GameStop’s corporate office or a supervisor at the store, no response was given. Customers who believe they were wrongly charged sales tax can file for a refund with Ohio’s tax department by visiting tax.ohio.gov. Poje hopes that her experience will prevent others from being taken advantage of during the sales tax holiday.
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