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.
A penny is not what you think. Indeed, from 1783 to 1837, a cent was pure copper. But newer pennies are made mostly of zinc. Here's the history, according to the U.S. Mint: 1  From 1837 to 1857, the cent was made of bronze (95 percent copper, and five percent tin and zinc). 2  From 1857, the cent was 88 percent copper and 12 percent nickel, giving the coin a whitish appearance.