Food and drink, both inside and outside the home, have gone up in price across the U.S. According to Pew Research Center data, about six in 10 U.S. adults say food costs are extremely or very important when deciding what to buy.
That means when a receipt shows charges that look unfamiliar, it’s normal to pause and ask questions. That’s exactly what one Florida woman did after picking up pizza from Little Caesars and noticing multiple taxes listed separately on her receipt, one for the state and one for the city.
‘Somebody Explain That…’
TikTok creator @veevaalishousss posted a video from her car, filming the receipt while trying to make sense of the final total.
“So today I went to Little Caesars,” she says. “I was really kind of confused ’cause she was like, the price is $13, but then she was like, it’s $15.”
That switch caught her attention. “I was like, what?” she says, before looking down at the receipt.
She points out that instead of a single tax line, the receipt breaks things down into multiple charges: a state tax of $0.87, a city tax of $0.14, and an additional transit or district charge of $0.15.
“Then I look on the receipt and it says state and city charge,” she says. “Taxes or whatever. State and city taxes? Somebody explain that. What the [expletive] is going on?”
The video surprised some viewers, especially those used to seeing one combined tax percentage rather than a detailed breakdown.
“What,” wrote one person. “I’m jus as confused.”
Commenters Find The Receipt Normal
In the comments, many users said nothing unusual happened at all. Instead, they explained that the receipt simply itemized taxes that usually appear as one combined number.
“They’re just choosing to tell you where the taxes are being charged from instead of listing it as 8.25% like you’re used to seeing,” one person wrote. “In Texas it’s 6.25% for the state, 1% for the city, and 1% for your district. In other words, 8.25%.”
“That’s state tax of 8.25%,” wrote another. “Don’t you pay taxes on your purchases?”
Others repeated the same point, saying many retailers break taxes down differently depending on their point-of-sale systems and local reporting requirements.
What’s Actually Happening at Little Caesars?
According to the Florida Department of Revenue, Florida’s statewide sales tax rate is 6%. That rate applies to most retail purchases, with a few exceptions, including new mobile homes, amusement machine receipts, and electricity, which are taxed at different rates.
On top of the statewide tax, counties and cities can add their own discretionary sales surtaxes. Those local taxes typically range from 1% to 2%, depending on where the purchase takes place.
@veevaalishousss They said the prices going up chile everybody need a cut of these taxes city state and transit district #explorepage✨ #viral #fyp #littleceasers ♬ original sound – veevaalishousss
When retailers choose to list each portion separately, customers end up seeing multiple tax lines instead of a single combined percentage. The total amount paid is the same; it just looks different on the receipt.
The Mary Sue has reached out to @veevaalishousss and Little Caesars via email for additional context and official comment.
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