The 6 percent Florida sales tax cannot be charged on food products, but UF’s Provisions on Demand customers were paying a higher bill than necessary.
Chris Mott, a first-year Ph.D. leadership development student, visited the Hub’s POD Market about two months ago and was taxed for his protein bar.
He purchased a water bottle from the same POD Market about three weeks ago and noticed the tax again.
“That’s when I questioned the cashier who told me that they didn’t know why they charged tax, but that it was that way in all of the stores on campus,” Mott wrote in an email.
He said a little change can add up, so he emailed Gator Dining Services.
On April 4, Bill Zemba, resident district manager of Gator Dining, responded.
“We are checking with our tax folks to get a determination,” the email read.
On April 11, Marketing Program Manager Jill Rodriguez said the issue came from a coding problem and has been resolved.
UF spokeswoman Janine Sikes said she didn’t know how long the added tax was in place, but Aramark should comply with all state tax laws.
Mott said he was stunned no one recognized the illegality of the added charges.
“While there’s really no way to reimburse patrons for the overcharge, they’ve at least recognized the problem and put a stop to it,” he said.
Contact Alexa Volland at avolland@alligator.org.
