Mark Schatzker of Ontario, Canada discovered a loophole when it came to buying wine in the area:
Sacramental wine may be this province’s most glorious loophole. This sacred tipple, which is no different from regular wine -– it isn’t blessed or grown on holy land or anything like that -– is hardly tainted by the profane hand of government taxation. About 200,000 bottles of sacramental wine bottles are sold every year in Ontario, and the LCBO collects a mere 15 per cent on each one, which is about a quarter of the tax charged on bottles of ordinary non-sacred vino.
So, theoretically, if someone had plans to buy wine, they would be saving money by buying sacramental wine instead of “regular wine.”
But there was a problem…
A balding monkish type approached me. “Is there anything particular you’re looking for?” he said.
“Candles,” I said. The man nodded. “And sacramental wine.” He led me to the back of the room.
…
The man suggested a bottle called Burgundy. (“A full-bodied, medium dry red wine with a rich, pleasing taste.”) A three-litre jug was going for $24.75. “I’d like one of those,” I said.
That’s when the trouble began.
“What is the purpose of the wine?” the man asked.
While he’s at it, I’m sure he can find communion wafers at a discount, too. Put some peanut butter on them and you have a quick nighttime snack.
(via The Globe and Mail)