New Jersey Administrative Code
Title 18 - TREASURY - TAXATION
Chapter 38 - LITTER CONTROL FEE
Subchapter 4 - FEE COMPUTATION
Section 18:38-4.1 - Fee computation methods

i. The fee is computed using the general method by applying the fee rate as stated in 18:38-2.1, Fee imposed on persons engaged in wholesale sales, to gross receipts from all wholesale sales of litter-generating products within New Jersey and applying the fee rate as stated in 18:38-2.2, Fee imposed on persons engaged in retail sales, to gross receipts from all retail sales of litter-generating products sold within New Jersey during the calendar year.

ii. Use of the general method requires the fee payer to separately account for sales of each of the 15 categories of litter-generating products to properly substantiate gross receipts subject to the fee.

Example: The M&M General Store is a retail establishment located in New Jersey with total sales of $ 1,000,000 for all products sold within New Jersey. $ 650,000 of the sales are retail sales of litter-generating products, and $ 225,000 of the sales are wholesale sales of litter-generating products. The owner of M&M General Store chooses to pay the fee using the general method of computation and separately accounts for sales from each of the 15 categories of litter-generating products. The fee due for the calendar year is calculated below.

$ 650,000 x 0.000225 = $ 146.25

$ 225,000 x 0.0003 = $ 67.50

$ 146.25 + $ 67.50 = $ 213.75

The fee due for the calendar year is $ 213.75.

i. The fee is computed using the total sales method by applying the fee rate as stated in 18:38-2.1, Fee imposed on persons engaged in wholesale sales, to gross receipts from all wholesale sales of all products, both litter-generating and non litter-generating, within New Jersey and applying the fee rate as stated in 18:38-2.2, Fee imposed on persons engaged in retail sales, to gross receipts from all retail sales of all products, both litter-generating and non litter-generating, sold within New Jersey during the calendar year.

ii. Use of the total sales method requires the fee payer to account for total sales of all products in New Jersey but does not require separate accounting for sales of litter-generating products.

Example: The XYZ Liquor Store is a retail establishment located in New Jersey with total sales of $ 1,000,000 for all products, both litter-generating and non litter-generating, sold within New Jersey. $ 700,000 of the sales are retail sales, and $ 300,000 of the sales are wholesale sales. The owner of XYZ Liquor Store, having reviewed the list of litter-generating products, is aware that most of the sales are litter-generating products and, therefore, elects to pay the fee using the total sales method of computation thus, eliminating the need to separately account for sales from each of the 15 categories of litter-generating products. The fee due for the calendar year is calculated below.

$ 700,000 x .000225 = $ 157.50

$ 300,000 x .0003 = $ 90.00

$ 157.50 + $ 90.00 = $ 247.50

The fee due for the calendar year is $ 247.50.

i. The fee is computed using the percentage of sales method by applying the fee rate as stated in 18:38-2.1 to that proportionate amount of gross receipts from wholesale sales of all products within New Jersey which properly reflects wholesale sales of litter-generating products within New Jersey and applying the fee rate as stated in 18:38-2.2 to that proportionate amount of gross receipts from retail sales of all products within New Jersey which properly reflects retail sales of litter-generating products within New Jersey sold during the calendar year.

Example: The ABC Auto Supply Store is a retail establishment in New Jersey with total retail sales of $ 2,000,000 for all products sold in New Jersey for the calendar year. ABC's owner, upon review of the list of litter-generating products, is aware that while his store does sell many litter-generating products, such as motor vehicle tires, cleaning agents, paper products, etc., he also sells many products not listed. He may, therefore, elect to compute his fee due using the Percentage of Sales Method and eliminate much of the expense of recordkeeping needed for the General Method of computation. He can substantiate that the proper proportionate amount of his total sales that can be attributed to sales of litter-generating products is $ 500,000. His total fee due for the calendar year would be $ 500,000 x .000225 = $ 112.50 fee due.

ii. The percentages of sales must reflect the portion of total retail sales and total wholesale sales represented by sales of litter-generating products in those sales categories. The percentages must be determined from actual sales data from a sample period of at least one month within the return period which is representative of the feepayer's sales activity during the entire period covered by the return. This percentage is computed by dividing the gross receipts from sales of litter-generating products by the gross receipts from total sales for the sample period.

iii. The sampling procedure as provided in (a)3iii(1) through (6) below, should be applied to both retail sales and wholesale sales:

iv. A fee payer electing to determine the litter control fee liability by using the percentage of sales method is not required to separately account for the total sales of litter-generating products. However, the fee payer is required to maintain such records to substantiate the proportionate amounts used.

Example: The ABC Auto Supply Store is a retail establishment located in New Jersey with total sales of $ 2,000,000 for all products sold within New Jersey for the calendar year. ABC Auto Supply Store's owner, Frank, is aware that while his store sells many litter-generating products from the 15 categories, such as motor vehicle tires, cleaning agents, paper products, etc., the store also sells many non litter-generating products. Frank, may, therefore, elect to compute the fee using the percentage of sales method and eliminate much of the expense of recordkeeping needed for the general method of computation. The fee due for the calendar year is calculated below.

Sampling Period (1 month)

Total sales: $ 200,000

Total retail sales of litter-generating products in the sampling period: $ 7,000

Proportionate amount of total sales attributed to retail sales of litter-generating products in the sampling period: $ 50,000/$ 200,000 = 0.035

Total wholesale sales of litter-generating products in the sampling period: $ 13,000

Proportionate amount of total sales attributed to wholesale sales of litter-generating products in the sampling period:

$ 80,000/200,000 = 0.40

Proportionate amount of total sales attributed to retail sales of litter-generating products in the calendar year:

$ 2,000,000 x 0.25 = $ 500,000

Proportionate amount of total sales attributed to wholesale sales of litter-generating products in the calendar year:

$ 2,000,000 x 0.40 = $ 800,000

Fee due for calendar year:

$ 500,000 x 0.000225 = $ 112.50

$ 800,000 x 0.0003 = $ 240.00

The fee due for the calendar year is $ 112.50 + $ 240.00 = $ 352.50.