“On the road again...and paying sales tax along the the road again.
Traveling here and traveling there, I'm paying sales tax everywhere…
It’s just great to be back on the road again.”
That’s right, Murph and friend (purely imaginary) are back on the road again for more trips sponsored by Avalara. This year, we will be taking twelve iconic trips across this big beautiful country of ours with each trip covering at least four states.
You may remember that I wrote several years worth of articles for Avalara a few years back... the first few years I covered a particular event, activity, or location within a specific state. Over the course of the year we were able to cover every state talking about the taxes we paid in those states. Then we took little trips within a state or two and saw some fine historic and scenic landmarks, and ate some great food... once again paying all of the appropriate taxes at each location.
Of course, all of those visits were purely "in the mind of Murph" even though a lot of them were based on my past travels.
For 2025 we have brought the road trip idea back to Sales Tax 'Trip' Tuesday, and my imagination is better than ever (or so I think). I would say that these trips will be a lot like those popular ‘vacation movies’, but I sure hope not. Somehow, I don’t think my imagination is going to get me into nearly as much trouble as the Griswolds got into.
So journey with me on this first trip for 2025, and we will see just how much sales and related taxes we can pay.
January's Sales Tax Trip Tuesday
It's a cold late January morning in Wichita, Kansas as snow has fallen overnight. It might seem like a bad day to start a multi-state trip, but in Kansas, turnpikes are king, so the road crews have already been out getting the 'pike' north of here cleared of snow and ice. As I already have a couple of thermoses of coffee, and having filled up with gasoline yesterday before the snow got to Wichita, I will wait until I get up the road a bit to fill up and grab some mid-morning refreshments.
My companion and I are heading east on Kellogg Drive so we can hit I-35 on the east side of town. Traffic is light eastbound, and also with the kids out of school today for a snow day, a lot of routine traffic has stayed home as moms and dads took time off as well. We are jumping onto I-35 which is also the Kansas Turnpike at mile marker 53 and are now heading toward Kansas City for our first 'planned' stop.
As far as I'm concerned that first stop will make my day, but for now it is sure nice to have someone in the car with me to pour the coffee into my travel mug. One thing about these Kansas turnpikes they are well maintained, even in the worst winter weather. The treatments they use have almost all of the snow gone and so much truck traffic has been over the road that the lanes seem almost dry. I guess that's why there are all those people driving nearly 80, but I'm shooting for 70 if I think it looks safe.
We've been on the road about an 90-minutes and I've decided to stop at the I-35 Emporia Service Plaza which is in the center median between the North and South bound lanes of the Turnpike. I like these service plazas because you are always certain to get 'good gas' and 'some great snacks'. This one even has a McDonald's. With the sun out, most of what little snow they had up this far, has already melted away.
I pull into the Valero to top off the gas tank... gasoline is $2.89 per gallon. Always a bit higher here but the convenience of not actually having to get off and get on the turnpike again is worth it. My companion heads into the convenience store to grab some goodies... Hostess Donuts, fill the thermos with hot coffee, a couple of bottles of water and a couple of chocolate bars. It turns out all those 'goodies' cost $22.95. Now as it happens this service plaza is in the 66801 Zip Code of Emporia, Kansas so it has 6.5% Kansas state sales tax and 2.0% local Sales Taxes. That's a total of 8.5% sales tax on top of the $22.95 or $1.95 in sales taxes for a total of $24.90.
And at $2.89 per gallon and 22 gallons I am paying $63.58 for my gasoline which has $0.24 per gallon fuel tax included so my gasoline taxes are $5.28 of the total fuel cost. Good thing I'm not driving a diesel pickup or I would have had to pay $0.26 per gallon in tax and a much higher fuel expense to boot. Thank goodness the coffee is hot, I'm ready for my travel mug to be filled to the brim because it was only 22 degrees outside, with a windchill of 14 while I was filling up my F150.
Even with this stop, I have planned my trip to reach Kansas City Missouri at the perfect time of day, and this leg of the trip is going great. Smooth sailing.
No matter how "off the highway" it is, we left Wichita early so we could make a stop in Kansas City (Missouri) at the one and only "World Famous, King of Ribs" Arthur C. Bryant's Barbecue at 1727 Brooklyn Avenue. This is one of those BBQ locations where if you are not there to stand in line by 9:30 AM or so, you will be standing in line for two hours when they open the door at 10:00 AM. Thank goodness we made it in time to find a parking space with only about a 20-minute wait outside the door.
If you are keen, you don't even need a GPS to find this place; when you get off the highway, just roll down your window. The aroma of the meats in the smoker increases with each foot you drive closer to your destination.
There is no time for 'hum-haw' when you're in line to order, so you better have decided before you get to the counter. As for me, I'm having a ½-slab of ribs, a ½-pound of brisket, and a ½-pound of sausage, with a side of baked beans, a side of coleslaw, and a pitcher of Coke… and nobody else better be eating off my plate(s). As for my companion, she is having a Turkey Sandwich, a side of Cheesy Corn, and a 'Diet Coke... she is trying to watch here 'imaginary' figure.
It hardly takes a minute to get our order, but much longer for me to "stuff my face" with all the fabulous BBQ. Now, for the tab:
This place isn't cheap, but great barbecue never is. While our total sales tax was essentially 9.0% total of which 4.225% is the State of Missouri but everybody rounds that up to 4.23%. There are a lot of jurisdictions in the greater Kansas City, Mo area and each wants their own piece of the pie... "heck, I didn't even get pie for desert." So, we have 1.38% Jackson County Sales Tax, 3.25% Kansas City Sales Tax, and 0.13% Jackson County Kansas City Zoological District Special Sales Tax. Heck, the least amount of sales tax has the longest name. There are more words in that name than in my BBQ order.
But like most places, prepared food (like this world class 'Q') is fully taxable unlike 'prepare it yourself groceries.' Of course, when in doubt, the Missouri Department of Revenue can give you the exact tax as can our sponsor Avalara.
After lunch we are heading back up I-35 and going to do our best to get 300+ miles by time to stop for the night. I do have another destination in mind, and plenty of gas in the tank to get there.
You see this is a very special time of year, and tonight's destination takes us to one of the best celebrations a guy of my age can hope for. We are headed to Clear Lake, Iowa. Now for many of you youngsters reading this Clear Lake will have almost no meaning to your what soever, but for people my age and even a little older it holds great meaning.
So let me tell you a little story. In January, 1959, a group of musicians set out on a 24-day tour traveling the Midwest. Their trip would become the most infamous tour in rock 'n roll history. The tour was scheduled to make stops as it zigzagged through the Midwest during one of the coldest winters ever. The musicians were crammed into a clunky bus with leaky windows, poor heating and even worse insulation. In short the musicians were freezing to death as they traveled over late nights and most of the day in order to arrive at the next location just in time to 'put on a show.'
Outside of Clear Lake on February 2nd, the bus broke down and was towed into town to a local gas station that would attempt to make repairs overnight. The group was scheduled to perform at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake that night. Despite their colds, cold feet and despair over the trip conditions, the performance they put on was described as 'electric.' That night burned bright with many of rock 'n roll's greatest hits with performances by Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, Dion and the Belmonts, Waylon Jennings, Tommy Allsup, Frankie Sardo and Carl Bunch.
As the show drew to a close, Buddy Holly was determined that he would not ride the cold buss on to Fargo, North Dakota. He made arrangements with a small plane charter service based at the Mason City Municipal Airport located just a few miles east of Clear Lake. Just after midnight Holly, J.P. 'The Big Bopper' Richardson, and Ritchie Valens climbed into a single-engine plane and took off to the north. The three, along with the plane's pilot' were killed when it crashed just a few minutes after taking off. And for many, that was "The Day the Music Died."
Each year at the end of January and start of February the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake commemorates the lives of these rock and roll legends at an event called the Winter Dance Party. And so that's what we will be doing on this trip-of-our-imagination for a couple of days.
Pulling off I-35 the first place I'm headed is to the QuickStar Gas and Convenience Store. By the way it's less than a mile from here to the entrance of the Mason City Airport. Gasoline is actually about 3 cents less here than it was down south, but I'm running on fumes so I need a lot more of it. My 28.5 gallons is going to cost me $81.51. While Iowa's motor fuel tax can vary by type of gasoline, I asked the guy at the station and he told me that it was $0.30 per gallon, so $8.55 of my total fuel bill was 'gasoline tax.' Since we plan to eat supper after getting checked into the motel across the street.
Pulling across the road which goes by at least a 1/2-dozen names and numbers, we turn onto Bayou Road for about a block and pull into the Fairfield Inn & Suites of Clear Lake. We made our reservation and got a rate of $127 per night not including taxes but with the state and local taxes including hotel-motel tax, the after tax fee is $142 per night. That means there is $15.00 per night in taxes total. There is going to be 6.0% state sales tax and 1.0% for the county and city sales tax which amount to $8.89 per night, and the hotel-motel tax is $6.11 per night, or 4.8%.
About now I am wishing I had some leftovers from Arthur Bryant's, but I don't, and I am not in the mood for a loaf of bread and some bologna from the QuickStar. Just after crossing under the Interstate and heading west into Clear Lake there is a Perkins American Food Company on our right. They are pretty much a 'cafe' that serves just 'good American country-style food.' I plan on having some breakfast for my supper since they serve breakfast the entire time they open. Now some Perkins are open 24-hours, but this one in this small town is only open till 9 in the winter months.
Being a big 'Beef' eater, and from Oklahoma, you might have guessed I would go for the 'Chicken Fried Steak and Eggs' with 3 eggs, extra crispy has browns, and biscuits and gravy. That and a pot of hot black coffee. My companion is having a chicken salad sandwich and some coleslaw, along with ice tea. She is a 'cheap date.' My dinner bill is only $34.28 plus tax. Once again, prepared foods are subject to the State and local sales taxes, so we are looking at 7.0% total for that or $2.40, bringing the total cost of dinner to $36.68.
Now I am ready to 'hit the hay' as we have a long day ahead tomorrow.
I'm not going to bore you with any more 'eats' stories, but I do want to let you know that we're heading in top pick-up our tickets for the Winter Dance Party. The event starts tonight but that doesn't mean that there are not things to do here today. The Surf Ballroom has a area that commemorates the 1959 events and tragedy. We also will likely take a drive out to the 'crash site' which incorporates at historical marker in the form of a large pair of glasses like those that Holly wore.
On our way back to the hotel, I plan on turning into the airport to see how things have changed since the last time I landed there back when I was flying.
Then tonight we will be back at the Surf for John Mueller. Speaking of which we paid $135 for our 3-day pass to the Winter Dance Party. The same 6% state and 1% local sales taxes apply to entertainment events and admissions, so our total cost for the two of us was $288.90, and it was well worth the 'good time' we had in our imaginations.
The morning after our last night in Clear Lake we hit Perkins for some breakfast before leaving... the eggs, waffles, syrup and coffee just hit the spot before getting on the road for another 125 miles northbound up I-35. We are headed to the Mall of America in Bloomington, MN because we plan on being there in time for the big 'Lunar (Asian) New Year' the mall is hosting.
It only takes a couple of hours to get there and traffic was light this Sunday morning so we manage to make it to the Mall just as things are really starting to get underway in the Mall's Rotunda. Several of the mall merchants and restaurants have banded together to put on a grand time celebrating the 'Year of the Snake.' Now don't ask me why we had to drive all this way to eat some Asian food, but apparently 'she' wanted to.
If you don't know, the 'snake' is a symbol of wisdom, charm, elegance and transformation, and they mall is celebrating all of that. I think that description is probably written by someone who was never bitten by a rattlesnake, but the mall is having festivities including artistic performances, cultural presentations, special decor and all kinds of activities, especially for the kids.
This mall is huge, no wonder it is sometimes referred to as 'Mall Kingdom.' Really tough, I am hoping some of those snake qualities 'wisdom, charm and transformation' will keep my brain from turning anymore into mush. That charm business might help me cover over that "grumpy old man" attitude I seem to be harvesting these days. As far as elegance, I'm not even a snake could help slither me back into my tuxedo.
What I most want is to take a grand tour of the dozen or more Asian restaurants in this mall. They even have two Panda Express. Ruby Thai Kitchen sounds yummy, as does Little Tokyo. If you are into the 'flash in a pan' knife work then Benihana might be for you. Another interesting place is Bonchon Korean (Spicy) Chicken, and if you are into raw fish then head to Kura Sushi.
I am thinking that i might settle for something casual at Ichiddo Ramen with beef, chicken and seafood charsiu ramen made to order with my choice of 15 toppings. Now Asian food will set you back a pretty penny for the two of us, our chosen entrees were $27 and $31, plus we had a couple of appetizers, some hot tea, and some green tea sherbet. $109.00 plus tax. In Bloomington, where the mall is located the combined sales tax rate for state, county and city sales tax is 9.03% of which 6.88% is the Minnesota state sales tax. That means we shelled out a total of $118.85 for our meal.
I wish I could skip things like shopping, not to mention tonight's hotel bill and gasoline to head home tomorrow, but I can't. You might have known that there would be shopping involved if we were at a mall, but I'm not going to elaborate other than to say that 9.03% sales tax really adds up when the $100 bills start getting shelled out for this and that.
When it comes to spending the night at a nearby hotel, you can count on shelling out 12.03% in state and local sales taxes plus a 3.0% transient lodging tax. Makes you want to say 'good night' to that and just head home except that you've walked so far in that mall you feet can hardly stand to touch the gas and break pedals.
Next morning, be prepared for the fact that the gasoline you buy to head home includes $0.285 in Minnesota motor fuel tax for each and every gallon in addition to the applicable sales tax. By the time you get back to Wichita, you realize you might have been better off just staying at home rather than paying "the tax man' all the way you drove.
Speaking of tax... if you are looking for a source of tax information broken down by address and zip code for everything from sales taxes to motor fuel taxes to food and grocery taxes, entertainment taxes and almost anything else you can pay in the way of 'at the point of sale' tax... then Avalara is your source of tax information. Be certain to head over to the Avalara Accountant Partner website for more information, and tell them "Murph sent ya."
Till next month, safe travels "on the road again..." and keep paying that sales tax!