Quest Diagnostics Fails in Bid for Ohio Drug Sales Tax Exemption

Quest Diagnostics of Pennsylvania Inc. and two of its subsidiaries were denied sales tax refunds because their clinical laboratory testing materials don’t qualify for a tax exemption for drugs, an Ohio tribunal held Friday.

The companies argued the tests, which are used to detect certain diseases or other health conditions, met the definition of drugs under the Ohio Revised Code. They filed 28 applications for approximately $513,000 in refunds for the period of August 2013 through December 2018.

The Ohio Board of Tax Appeals disagreed, referring to the statute’s phrase that requires drugs to be “dispensed only pursuant to a ...