Albertsons Illegal Coupon Food Stamp Tax
Vanessa Houk, 07.01.2010 03:31
Ashland, Oregon Albertsons charges an Oregon mom tax for using coupons and paying with food stamps.
The extra charges happened randomly and never added up to much, but fifty cents here and a dollar there eventually started nagging at her conscience. Why was an Oregon mom charged a "tax" at Albertsons when she used coupons and paid with food stamps? She tested several theories and finally concluded that this "tax" was charged only at the Ashland, Oregon store when she used manufacturer coupons and Catalina coupons.
First a quick explanation of what Catalina Coupons are. These are coupons that print out in little machines near some store registers. They are tied to store sales promotions and are often good for dollars off "your next order." They can be used in conjunction with other coupons.
This shopper repeated the exact same purchases at other Rogue Valley Oregon Albertsons and discovered that the Ashland store was the only one that added a "tax" into the equation. Figuring it would be simple to fix, she alerted the store manager who confirmed that they knew this had been happening and promised to have the computer programmer look into it. Several weeks later the shopper checked back with the store during another Catalina promotion and discovered that she was charged tax again, so she alerted the Oregon Attorney General's office as well as the Department of Human Services. The Attorney General wanted more information, so as she gathered that, she figured contacting the head of the Food Stamps Division would be effective at ensuring that the practice ended. About a month after confirmation that the Food Stamp Division was investigating it, she tried again. She discovered that the Ashland Albertsons is still charging food stamp recipients more than they charge cash paying customers, essentially financially punishing those who use coupons to try to stretch their food stamp dollars while taking more than their fair share from all Oregon tax payers.
When a retail establishment accepts food stamps, they sign a contract agreeing that "coupons shall be accepted for eligible foods at the same prices and on the same terms and conditions applicable to cash purchases of the same foods at the same store except that tax shall not be charged on eligible foods purchased with coupons." 1 Maurice Walker, who is the Oregon Trail Card Coordinator for the state of Oregon said. "SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, a new acronym for the food stamp program) retailers are not allowed to charge a tax on SNAP purchases ever in a state that does have a sales tax. If a store does they would be disqualified from participating in the SNAP program."
In our current economic state, millions of people rely on food stamps in order to survive. The numbers are staggering. According to the Department of Human Services, thirty seven million Americans and of that number more than 650,000 live in Oregon and are currently on the dole. Statistics show that one in six Oregonians now receive food benefits, a 36% increase. Overcharging one woman a buck or so each time she shops might not seem like a big deal, but how many other people have been taxed?
If you (or anyone you know) have been charged a tax in an Oregon Albertsons store when you used food stamps and coupons, please contact 
sunriver@gmail.com.
1.
http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/rules/Regulations/pdfs/110106.pdf
A Compilation of Regulations Pertaining to Retail Food Stores, Wholesale Food Concerns and
Financial Institutions, Food and Nutrition Services, Nov 2006. Page 52, 278.2 Participation of retail food stores, section B.
e-mail:: sunriver@gmail.com
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Evidence in Receipt 07.01.2010 - 16:35 
Receipt from 1-6-2010 Purchase Here is a scan of an Albertson's receipt that clearly shows the "tax" in question... Pogo>  Homepage:: http://
Um, gee, how about compter error 08.01.2010 - 05:51 Without seeing the whole bill, one would suspect it is simply a computer error. There is no coupon tax. Bur, accusing Albertsons of some massive fraud scheme sounds soooo much better Tom Bird> Homepage:: http://
Reply 08.01.2010 - 16:22 Mr Bird, Yes, it does seem to be a computer programming error and if you read the article you would have caught that I said that there. The store has been aware of the problem for some time and considering it was not corrected, it was my hope that by bringing some attention to the problem might finally resolve it for all. Thank you. Vanessa Houk> e-mail:: sunriver@gmail.com
Homepage:: http://
Where's the rest of the receipt? 08.01.2010 - 16:44 Where's the rest of the receipt? Where there any non-food, taxable items purchased? Mike Holmes> Homepage:: http://
Receipt 08.01.2010 - 20:38 I will get a scan of the full receipt up as soon as I can. It may take a day or two as I do not have access to one and have to borrow it. There were no items on the receipt other than food items and nothing at all that was exactly fifty cents. Vanessa Houk> e-mail:: sunriver@gmail.com
Homepage:: http://
for folks outside of oregon--- 09.01.2010 - 05:14 
O R E G O N * h a s * n o * s a l e s * t a x john kroger> Homepage:: http://
Ashland has municipal tax! 09.01.2010 - 07:08 It's a bummer, as I'm on food stamps too, but the reality is that almost every business in Ashland charges some kind of tax based on municipal law supporting the tourist industry. She must have bought some kind of prepared food because I think it only applies to that. yeshua> Homepage:: http://
Full Receipt Scan 11.01.2010 - 18:30 
by popular request here is a complete scan of the receipt in question... Pogo> Homepage:: http://
what does it has to do with food stamps? 12.01.2010 - 23:12 Clearly there is nothing in your receipt that would have the Ashland Meals Tax applied to it. So it's clearly a mistake, and you should take it up with the manager. On the other hand, I don't see any indication of a conspiracy to tax food stamp users. Tom Bird> Homepage:: http://
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