WILLOUGHBY, Ohio — An area woman found that she was wrongly charged sales tax on her purchase at the GameStop in Willoughby during Ohio's sales tax holiday, which is running now through Aug. 8.
Beth Poje says the store manager refused to refund the $17.51 in sales tax that she was charged for her purchase of a game controller and video game, totaling $241.48, so she turned to 3News Investigates to get answers.
"I just don't want anyone to be taken advantage of. It's just not right," Poje said. "If you're still charging tax this entire week when you're not supposed to, that's going to be a lot of money that you're illegally getting."
Ohio's expanded sale tax holiday includes what the state calls "tangible personal property" under $500, so it includes so much more than just school supplies and apparel.
According to the Ohio Department of Taxation, "Tangible personal property is any property that can be seen, weighed, measured, felt, or touched, including prewritten computer software."
The tax exemption applies to a majority of products that you can buy in a store or online, except for watercraft, motor vehicles, alcohol, tobacco, and vaping products, as well as items containing marijuana. You can even get a restaurant meal that's tax-free, as long as you dine-in. Carry-out orders are not included.
3News Investigates went into the GameStop store, where we found there was no supervisor inside. A worker contacted one on the phone.
We asked the unnamed supervisor why the store was charging sales tax during the holiday, and if the store was going to refund the money to customers. She refused to answer our repeated questions and referred us to GameStop corporate headquarters.
However, the number for media inquiries on the GameStop website was a non-working phone number. Our email to the address for media inquiries did not receive an immediate response.
The Ohio Department of Taxation tells 3News Investigates that "businesses who improperly charge sales tax during the holiday can be subject to penalties."
An email from an ODT spokesperson said, "If an Ohioan is charged sales tax erroneously, that resident may file for a consumer direct refund, directly with the Department of Taxation. Sales Tax Refund forms can be found on our website." The form can be found here.
We did find that GameStop.com appeared to be doing things right. We purchased similar items as Poje on the GameStop website and were not charged sales taxes when we entered our Ohio address.
But the company may have even more questions to answer.
3News Investigates noticed that, in addition to being wrongly charged sales tax, Poje was charged a sales tax rate of 7.25%. According to the Ohio Department of Taxation website, "The sales and use tax rate for Lake County will decrease from 7.25 % to 7.00 % effective July 1, 2024."
The Better Business Bureau recommends that consumers use a credit card for their purchases during the sales tax holiday, because if shoppers need to dispute a bill, it's often easier to work through a consumer's credit card company when a business refuses to cooperate.
3News Investigates reached out to Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost's office about the matter, but we are waiting to hear back.