Top court rules big grocers must pay CAT

COLUMBUS — The state can continue to collect commercial activity taxes from grocery stores, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

The grocers had argued that the state did not have authority to impose its commercial activity tax, or CAT, on their gross sales, citing provisions in the Ohio Constitution prohibiting taxes on food.

But in its 6-1 decision, justices said collections were not an unconstitutional excise tax on such purchases.

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