Your parents always told you there is no such thing as a free lunch. In Vermont, the tax collectors apparently decided there was no such thing as a free toothbrush either.

As reported by WPTZ News in Burlington, Vt., the state legislature had to rein in aggressive tax collectors who decided that dentists should be charging Vermont sales tax on the toothbrushes they gave to their patients at the end of an office visit.

Undoubtedly, the tax collectors reasoned that the toothbrushes were not “free.” Rather the cost of the brush was built into the dentist’s pricing arrangement. And if people had to pay sales tax on toothbrushes they bought at a store, they should also pay tax on similar items “bought” from their dentist.

Apparently, the Vermont legislators thought this tactic was going a bit too far. So they reacted by placing a moratorium on this practice – as well as the tax collectors’ efforts to collect sales tax on meals served at senior citizen homes.

“Treat your password like your toothbrush. Don’t let anybody else use it, and get a new one every six months.” – Clifford Stoll, Ph.D., U.S. astronomer and author