Sales and Use Tax. The State levies a general retail sales and use tax of 4.75%. The general rate applies to purchases of tangible commodities, certain digital property, room and cottage rentals, admission charges to an entertainment activity, service contracts, and laundry and dry cleaning services.
For the first time in U.S. history, the cost of manufacturing both a penny and a nickel is more than the 1-cent and 5-cent values of the coins themselves. Skyrocketing metals prices are behind the increase, the U.S. Mint said in a letter to members of Congress last week. The Mint estimates it will cost 1.23 cents per penny and 5.73 cents per nickel this fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. The cost of producing a penny has risen 27% in the last year, while nickel manufacturing costs have risen 19%. BACKGROUND:A brief history of the penny.
Production costs for the four main U.S. coins went down in fiscal year 2014, but the penny is still costing American taxpayers more to make than itâs actually worth, according to the U.S. Treasuryâs December report to Congress. Producing one dollar in pennies costs the U.S. Treasury $1.66. Manufacturing a nickel also costs more than its face value, at $1.62 for every dollar of nickels funneled into the economy. As of 2013, the Treasury was incurring an annual deficit of about $105 million dollars on penny and nickel production.