Evan Schuman's StorefrontBacktalk

In case that’s not clear enough, the complaint also cites a 2005 Pennsylvania Department of Revenue update that spells it out further:

The regulations require a retailer to deduct the coupon amount from the taxable portion of the purchase price, if the cash register receipt describes both the item purchased and the coupon that applies to it. The description requirement ensures that a coupon relating to a nontaxable item will not reduce the taxable purchase price. It also protects the retailer by showing why the taxable price was reduced.

The Department interprets the requirement of a description to mean that the cash register receipt makes a clear reference to the item and the coupon related to it or a clear reference that there is an amount deducted on any purchase or a percentage discount on all items listed whether taxable or not.

Of course, this being a Walmart receipt, the receipt includes the UPC codes from both the shaving gel and the coupon. That matters because if the coupon didn’t show up on the receipt, it would qualify as a rebate—which isn’t tax-exempt—instead of an on-the-spot coupon under Pennsylvania law.

Walmart hasn’t filed its legal response to the lawsuit, but did ask to have it moved to federal court, which indicates the potential damages are worth at least $5 million. However, Walmart spokesman Dan Fogleman told a Pittsburgh television station that “Walmart’s current systems, with respect to the collection and remittance of sales tax, are in compliance with Pennsylvania’s tax laws. We have previously sought an opinion from the state which confirmed this.”

So who got it wrong? Is it Farneth’s lawyer? Walmart’s tax department? The Pennsylvania tax bureaucrat who OKed Walmart’s tax logic?

Or did it come from IT—either a subtle bug in the POS code, an inadequately tested change, or a misconfiguration for all the Walmart stores in Pennsylvania, all the Pittsburgh Walmarts or just that particular store?

At this point, there’s a good chance Walmart still doesn’t know for sure. And if Walmart has tracked down an internal systems problem, it’s not in the chain’s interest to say anything—especially if it turns out to affect sales-tax calculation in some other states, too.

Worse still, Walmart can’t even take the safe route in this case. There is no safe route. If the chain collects the disputed sales tax, it could be slapped with steeper penalties if it loses the lawsuit. If it doesn’t collect the disputed sales tax, it could be in trouble with the state—unless it makes up the difference on its own.

All Walmart can do is keep sifting through its POS systems to make sure everything is the way it’s supposed to be—and hope it’s that tax bureaucrat’s fault after all.