Week in Insights: Deli Platter Taxability Poses Food for Thought

If you ask 10 botanists to define a fruit, you’ll probably get the same answer—but if you ask 10 different tax administrations, you might end up with 10 different ones.

The US Supreme Court in 1893 waded into those weeds in Nix v. Hedden, ruling that tomatoes, despite being botanically classified as fruit, were legally vegetables for tariff purposes.

Fast forward to 2025, where a Buffalo, N.Y., deli owner lost his battle with a state tax tribunal, which ruled that the deli meat party platters he sold were taxable prepared foods. Arranging the items on a tray seemingly transforms the ...