I wonder how much money this will generate for Iowa to make it worth being a butt of jokes?
The Iowa Department of Revenue is taxing 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.
"We made the change because we wanted the sales tax law to match what we thought the predominant use was," Mulvey said. "We thought the predominant use was for decorations or jack-o'-lanterns."
Previously, pumpkins had been considered an edible squash and exempted from the tax. The department ruled this year that pumpkins are taxable — with some exceptions — if they are advertised for use as jack-'o-lanterns or decorations.
Iowans planning to eat pumpkins can still get a tax exemption if they fill out a form.
There's a place down the street with me that has been selling pumpkins for Halloween, and they still probably have a couple of hundred sitting out. What do they - and everyone else with overstock - do with their pumpkins after Halloween? Is it garbage, or can they be used for something beneficial?
I know they give zoo elephants (and others) pumpkins to eat, but there are way too many squashes and too few elephants to make any headway. I thought perhaps the grocery stores send them back to be cooked for canned pulp? It's such a waste.
Joe interviewed a blind gardeners' group last week and then watched them use a pumpkin as a piñata. Took some serious whacking.