Three Kroger stores in Kanawha County have mistakenly been charging Charleston's 1 percent sales tax on certain items at stores outside the Charleston city limits, the company said late Tuesday.
The grocery stores on MacCorkle Avenue Southwest in St. Albans, Big Tyler Road in Cross Lanes and MacCorkle Avenue Southeast in Marmet have been adding the city's sales tax to the 6 percent state sales tax on items including health and beauty products, alcoholic beverages and prepared foods, Kroger spokesman John Lambert said Tuesday evening.
Charleston's 1 percent sales tax went into effect on July 1, so the higher tax has been mistakenly charged at the three stores during the entire month of July. The error is now fixed, Lambert said.
"We learned of the mistake [Monday] ... and figured out late this afternoon what to do about it," he said Tuesday.
The extra money taken in by the misapplied sales tax totals about $13,700 - which works out to an average of 7 cents per customer at the three stores, according to Kroger.
"Those funds have already been remitted to the state," Lambert said.
Still, he said, customers who want a refund and have receipts for their sales can get their money back. "You might be more than the average 7 cents and it might be worth it to you," he said.
As an additional gesture, Lambert said, Kroger will donate the $13,700 to flood relief efforts in West Virginia.