Meals Taxes in Major U.S. Cities March 6, 2012 Taxes on ready-
to-go meals are a complicated component of many states' and
municipalities' tax codes. The meal tax, which essentially acts
as an up-charge on the standard sales tax, increases the cost of
eating out in restaurants and also captures revenue from takeout
food locations. On the local level, however, the imposition of a
meal tax is highly variable, say Joseph Henchman, Alex Raut and
Kevin Duncan of the Tax Foundation. - States generally manage
taxation of groceries ("non-prepared food"), which does not
constitute a meal tax -- these foods are completely exempt from
state sales tax in 30 states and the District of Columbia and
partly exempt in a further eight states. - Thirty-five of the 50
largest cities in the United States do not charge a higher tax
on meals than on other goods. - Minneapolis, Minnesota, has the
highest combined sales-meal tax with a rate of 10.775 percent. -
Combined rates are also high in Chicago, Illinois (10.75
percent), Virgini