By Paul Leighton
BEVERLY — A Beverly woman got a little extra on her ice cream cone on a recent weekend. But it wasn't whipped cream or chocolate sprinkles. It was the much more unpalatable meals tax.
Mayor Bill Scanlon said a woman called him to report that a local ice cream establishment overcharged her on the new meals tax increase that went into effect April 1.
The City Council approved an increase in the meals tax from 6.25 percent to 7 percent. But the ice cream customer told Scanlon that she was charged 6.25 percent and 7 percent, for a total tax of 13.25 percent.
Scanlon said he called the ice cream shop, which he declined to name, to advise them of the proper tax to charge. He said the shop might have been trying to take advantage of any confusion caused by the meals tax increase.
"I'd be surprised if they're that dumb," he said. "I think it might've been a scam."
Scanlon advised residents to keep an eye out for overcharges, whether inadvertent or not.
— Paul Leighton
