FACT Professional Inc.
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FACT Professional Inc.
Taxing Times - How Sparkler Tax 'Lit Up' the Debate on Fireworks Regulation
You know what topic we haven't covered yet? Fireworks!
Today, we're going to talk about the Sparkler Tax in West Virginia, USA.
Hello and welcome to Taxing Times, the podcast that explores the fascinating, controversial and often wacky history of taxation. I'm your host Nupur Kumar - aka Super Nupur, a major tax & history nerd and the managing partner of FACT Professional, a CPA firm.”
You know what topic we haven’t covered yet…fireworks!
Today we’re going to talk about the sparkler tax in West Virginia, USA.
You may be wondering, what is a sparkler tax? Well, it’s a fee that businesses have to pay in order to sell sparklers and novelties in the state of West Virginia. Sparklers and novelties are items that produce sparks, smoke, or noise when ignited, such as wire sparklers, snakes, glow worms, trick noisemakers, and other sparkling devices. They are not considered fireworks, which are illegal in West Virginia, but they are still subject to regulation by the state fire marshal.
For my listeners outside of the USA - Sparklers are thin metal rods coated with a pyrotechnic compound that emits sparks when ignited. They are often used for celebrations, especially on Independence Day.
Novelties are other devices that produce a small flame, smoke, or sound, such as party poppers, snappers, and snakes. These items are not considered fireworks under West Virginia law, and are legal to sell and use in the state.
In other countries sparklers may be known as – and pardon my pronunciation:
- Bengali / Hindi: ফুলঝড়ি (phuljhori)
- French: cierge magique
- German: Wunderkerze
- Italian: stella filante
- Japanese: スパークラー (supākurā)
- Portuguese: estrelinha
- Spanish: bengala
- And many more that I simply can’t pronounce
Now there are two components to this vendetta on SPARKLERS. The sparkler fee and the sparkler tax.
The sparkler fee was established in 2002 by the West Virginia Tax Division, and it requires businesses to pay $15 for each location where they sell sparklers and novelties. The fee is not prorated, meaning that it does not matter how long or how often the business sells these items. The fee is also not refundable, even if the business stops selling sparklers and novelties or goes out of business. The fee is supposed to run concurrent with the business registration certificate, which is valid for one year. The business also has to display a sticker or card issued by the tax commissioner at the location where they sell sparklers and novelties, to show that they have paid the fee.
However West Virginia was not done with Sparklers yet. As the Sparkler Tax was introduced in 2004, as part of a bill that also increased the tax on cigarettes and other tobacco products. The bill was intended to raise revenue for the state’s budget and health care programs, as well as to discourage smoking and firework use.