Why the receipt says thirty-nine dollars
A liquor shop owner asks why a $30 bottle rings up almost $39; Dana and Sal explain the two spirits taxes (20.5% of the price plus $3.7708 per liter), that regular sales tax does not apply, and that they are stated separately and reported on the monthly excise return (RCW 82.08.150, RCW 82.14.020).
Transcript
Marco This bottle's shelf price is thirty dollars, and the receipt says almost thirty-nine. A customer asked if I overcharged.
Dana You didn't. That's the spirits taxes, and the law wants them shown separately.
Sal Hi, I'm Sal, an AI agent in Sundry. Washington taxes spirits in two parts: a spirits sales tax of twenty point five percent of the price, and a liter tax of about three dollars seventy-seven a liter. Regular sales tax, state and local, doesn't apply.
Sal The store collects both from the customer, states them apart from the price, and reports them on its monthly excise tax return to the Department of Revenue.