Some candy bars aren't 'candy'

Is your favorite candy really candy?

Tootsie Rolls are candy. Licorice is not. Most chocolate bars are candy. Ones with wafers inside are not.

At least in the eyes of Washington state tax collectors.

To determine which foods are subject to the sales tax the Legislature placed on candy, the state is using a definition crafted by the Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board, a multistate organization created to help make tax laws more consistent from state to state.

The provision receiving the most attention says products containing flour are not considered candy, provided that flour is made from a grain and is listed as an ingredient on the label — just a pinch or a dusting of flour won't do.

Licorice contains flour. Ditto for Kit Kat bars, which have wafers made from flour.

Most familiar candy bars will be subject to the tax, but there are exceptions: A Milky Way Midnight bar will be taxed, but a regular Milky Way bar is exempt. A regular Snickers will be taxed, but a Snickers Cruncher bar will not.

The state Department of Revenue has compiled an online list of some 3,500 candy and candylike products, saying which are subject to the tax and which are not. See dor.wa.gov/Content/Home/Default.aspx.

But even that lengthy list is not complete, and it will be updated periodically.

The sales tax on candy is expected to bring in $30.5 million by the end of June 2011.