Now that the Sate of Georgia has become a full member of the SSTP, there is a need to update many of its sales tax regulations to come into compliance with the program. Two proposed drafts have been issued by the Georgia Department of Revenue. The links to these regulations are below.
One regulation deals with grocery and prepared food items and the other regulation deals with drugs, prosthetic devices, and durable medical equipment. Both regulations, in my humble opinion, are flawed in some respects. The current food exemption provides an exemption based on the “point of consumption” and not on the “prepared vs non-prepared” food distinction. The current practice is easy to administer and works fairly well. The proposed regulation makes the sales tax determination on food much more difficult to deal with.
The same for the drug regulation. There is an improvement in how the exemption for prescription drugs is administered which is good. However, the exemption for prosthetics, DME, and mobility enhancement equipment is cumbersome and adds some new requirements that are not in statute. I am not sure if the Georgia DOR is attempting to increase revenue by changing these regulations or is just unaware of how radical their proposed changes really are. Neither is very comforting.
Ned Lenhart
President
Food Regulation
https://etax.dor.ga.gov/inctax/proposed_regs/1-30-12%20%20Sales%20Tax%20-%20revised%20order.pdf
Drug Regulation