Michigan Judges Parse Sales Tax Exemption for Bandages and Gauze

A Michigan Court of Appeals panel Tuesday asked tough questions of a medical device seller seeking a tax exemption and of the state tax department trying to deny it.

“It’s a very difficult issue, and obviously, one we struggled with,” Judge Stephen L. Borrello said at the close of 30 minutes of oral argument, thanking both attorneys for their assistance. Although the judges would love to argue about the policy behind the exemption, he’d earlier said, the case asked them to decide whether the specific items fit within the meaning of the statute’s vague definitions.

Rehab & Mobility Systems LLC ...