Pumpkin Scare Hits Iowa

Trick, not treat:

The taxman in Iowa is going after jack-o'-lanterns this Halloween. The new department policy was implemented after officials decided that pumpkins are used primarily for Halloween decorations, not food, and should be taxed, said Renee Mulvey, the department's spokeswoman. ... Previously, pumpkins had been considered an edible squash and exempted from the tax.

Attention tax authorities: I'll confess that the pretty bananas sitting in the fruitbowl in my kitchen sometimes go brown, and then I throw them out; at that point, their entire raison d'être has been decoration, not sustenance. Please add the charge to my April 15 tab.

Anyway, it's good to know that there's a recourse for honest-to-god pumpkin-eaters:

Iowans planning to eat pumpkins can still get a tax exemption if they fill out a form.

UPDATE, THURSDAY:

Administrators announced Wednesday that they were backing off a policy of charging sales tax on pumpkins intended for use as jack-o'-lanterns. The decision came after The Des Moines Register reported the state's claim that the big orange gourds did not qualify for the food exemption because they generally are used for decoration. The department said it announced the policy last year, but it acknowledged that many people didn't notice until Wednesday, when the story whipsawed around the Internet and drew scads of derisive comments.

But all is still not well in Pumpkinland. As the Iowa tax kerfuffle died down, British cops told three small boys from South Wiltshire to pack up their pumpkin stand and go home because the lads lacked a trader's license. As photos of criminals go, this one's pretty good:

Comments

[Dakota]

Can you get a partial deduction for toasting the seeds?

[George Arndt]

Thats how you scare people on Halloween, dress up as a..TAXMAN...AAAAGGGGGHHHH!!!