Check your grocery receipt for illegally collected sales tax

TAMPA - Anyone can make a mistake, right?  Which is why I made three separate trips to the Stop n Shop on North 40th Street in Tampa between June and September.

Our purchases included black beans, yellow rice and muffin mix.  All non-taxable grocery items, yet the cashier went three for three charging tax on everything every time.

Stop N Shop isn't the only store we've caught doing this.  Back in May, we identified another Tampa convenience store engaged in the same practice.

Armed with our three tax bearing receipts, I returned to the Stop N Shop and questioned the cashier who explained she did not know better.

Then I called the store's owner.

He explained in an email. “I apologize for assuming that my employee was well trained before taking over the job. However, I took serious action by taking the printout of the non taxable item from the internet and putting up in the store.”

If you believe a store is adding taxes to non-taxable items, file a report at dor.myflorida.com .