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Is the 9% rate calculated in the same way as the 6% sales and use tax on sales of other types of products?

No. By statute, the 6% sales and use tax is imposed on a bracketed basis. The amount of tax due is determined by the sale price in relation to the statutorily imposed brackets. The amount of tax increases one cent from one bracket to the next with 6 cents due on each exact dollar. The 9% sales and use tax is a flat rate. This means that when the tax calculation results in an amount between two whole pennies, the tax is rounded off. The tax computation must be carried to the third decimal place, and the tax then must be rounded to a whole cent using a method that rounds up to the next cent whenever the third decimal place is greater than four, and rounds down whenever the third decimal place is less than or equal to four. For example, if the taxable price of the alcoholic beverage is $8.24 the tax would be $0.74 ($8.24 times 9% = $0.742). If the taxable price of the alcoholic beverage is $8.29 the tax would be $0.75 ($8.29 times 9% = $0.746).

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