THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 29, 1994 TAG: 9407290552
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: ROANOKE LENGTH: Short : 32 lines
The Virginia Department of Taxation said Thursday that a Roanoke company will not be taxed for its contribution of bottled water for victims of last year's Mississippi River floods.
A week and a half ago, Roanoke-based Quibell Corp. was told by auditors for the Department of Taxation that the company could be liable for up to $6,000 in sales taxes on the water.
The company provided 25 truckloads of water for the flood victims - some of it was donated, and the rest sold to relief organizations below cost.
Jeanne Staley, Quibell's director of administration and sales, said she was told the company should have charged sales tax on the water it sold below cost because the groups that bought it did not have tax-exempt status.
But Steve Schwartz, a policy analyst for the Department of Taxation, tried to clear up the situation Thursday. He said the tax department has not taxed any company's flood relief donations, and doesn't plan to.
But he said companies need to keep in mind that Virginia law stipulates that, in most instances, any product that leaves a company's inventory is subject to the sales tax unless an exemption form has been filed. by CNB