City of Golden v. Sodexo: Tax Exemptions for University Meal Plans

City of Golden v. Sodexo America, LLC addressed whether meal-plan transactions involving Sodexo and the Colorado School of Mines were subject to municipal sales tax. Golden argued that Sodexo sold meals directly to students at retail, while Sodexo maintained that its sales to Mines were wholesale transactions.

The Colorado Supreme Court affirmed the decision favoring Sodexo. It treated the arrangement as two transactions—Sodexo selling meals to Mines at wholesale and Mines providing the meals to students—and concluded that the wholesale transactions were exempt from sales tax under the applicable municipal code. The ruling also clarified the treatment of prior conflicting precedent.

Original article:https://www.whitcomblawpc.com/business-law-blog/city-of-golden-v.-sodexo-tax-exemptions-for-university-meal-plans