Sometimes it’s just easier to have a piping hot pie delivered to your door, even if it means you have to pay a small fee for the convenience. But an Illinois man claims in a recently filed class-action seeking lawsuit that Papa John’s added a little extra to his bill in the form of an illegal delivery tax.
The suit, filed in Madison Country Circuit Court on Jan. 13, accuses Papa John’s of violating state consumer protection laws by collection taxes on delivery fees, The Madison Record reports.
Under Illinois law, businesses can only include delivery and shipping fees in the sales tax calculation if the “charges are included in the selling price.” The plaintiff contends that the Papa John’s fee is a surcharge that is listed separately from the selling price on the receipt, and therefore not to be taxed.
In one instance, the plaintiff says he was charged 6.85% on a delivery. That was only $.16 extra but if the company is improperly charging this tax to every Illinois customer, those few cents can add up.
Under the lawsuit, that customer contends that anyone who has ordered food for delivery from a Papa John’s restaurant in the state has paid excess sales tax.
The suit, which accuses Papa John’s of violating the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act, and the Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act, seeks relief in the form of refunds for the allegedly illegally collected taxes, as well as an order preventing the company from charging sales tax on delivery fees in the future.
We’ve reached out to Papa John’s HQ for comment and will update if we hear anything back on this story.
Papa John’s illegally taxes pizza delivery fee, lawsuit charges [Madison Record]
by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist