Perrier, which has been marketed as French mineral water for more than a century, is actually soda — and can therefore be taxed, a Pennsylvania court ruled.
Perrier’s classification has been under fire since 2019, when thirsty patron Jennifer Montgomery was taxed 24 cents on a 16-ounce Perrier bottle at a Sheetz convenience store in Pennsylvania, Fortune earlier reported.
Montgomery then filed two petitions with the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue Board of Appeals seeking a refund for the sales tax since mineral water was not supposed to be taxable in the US.
this too: Perrier, which has been marketed as French mineral water for more than a century, is actually soda — and can therefore be taxed, a Pennsylvania court ruled.
Perrier’s classification has been under fire since 2019, when thirsty patron Jennifer Montgomery was taxed 24 cents on a 16-ounce Perrier bottle at a Sheetz convenience store in Pennsylvania, Fortune earlier reported.
Montgomery then filed two petitions with the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue Board of Appeals seeking a refund for the sales tax since mineral water was not supposed to be taxable in the US.Bottled water has traditionally been exempt from sales tax because water is necessary for survival. However, when manufacturers start adding sugar or other flavors and sweeteners, water goes from an essential to an optional item, and can therefore be slapped with a tax.
Montgomery had also initiated a class-action complaint against Sheetz in the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County alleging the same issue, according to court documents filed on April 23.
Pennsylvania’s Department of Revenue Board of Appeals ruled in late 2019 that Perrier is carbonated water, thus placing it in the “soft drink” category, making it subject to sales tax.
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