Girl Scout cookies - they're an annual treat that earn troops much of their operating money for the entire year. But if some Georgia legislators have their way, those little boxes could soon cost you a little more. That's because of a bill moving through the House that proposes a tax on the cookies. It's House Bill 385 -- a 155-page bill proposing a number of changes and amendments to the state's tax and revenue codes. Page 55 is where you'll find the section dealing with Girl Scouts... And as you might imagine, it has a lot of people crying foul.
At 3-50 a box, Girl Scout cookies cost a little more than many you'd find in the grocery store. Even so, folks buy them in droves each winter. “People keep in mind that when they're buying a box of girl scout cookies, they're not really buying the cookies, they're buying the program behind that box of cookies,” says Jan McKinney with Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia. But those cookies could cost even more if a bill moving through the Georgia House passes and sales tax has to be collected on each box. McKinney says, “That money provides funds for the troop level for the girls to do their different activities and things that they do throughout the year as well as help support our various camps that we have around the counties in Georgia - and that would definitely be affected if we had to start paying out sales taxes.”
Not only that - council leaders say it would complicate the cookie selling programs for the girls. “It would definitely change our program in terms of the different counties that we have - 122 in the state of Georgia - they all have their varying percentages of sales tax - so we can't just have one program that goes all across the board,” says McKinney. Meaning they'd be required to either educate girls across the state on reporting of sales tax in different areas...or simply raise the price of a box of cookies across the board. It’s a change that would impact the customer and possibly reduce sales. House Bill 385 came to the attention of local leaders just a week after a successful campaign to allow cookie sales in front of their founder's home in downtown Savannah. Now they're in a fight again. “The wonderful thing has been the support that our community has provided for us and how they have just stood up and made their voices heard has been wonderful,” says McKinney.
The Girl Scouts aren't the only organization affected. The bill also proposes taxing the popcorn that the Boy Scouts sell each year to raise money. News Three did try to contact the four State Representatives who sponsored the bill today...none have responded to our calls. http://www2.wsav.com/news/2011/mar/07/tax-girl-scout-cookies-proposed-ar-1549615/
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