Jere Downs

@JereDowns

Papa John's can't charge tax on pizza delivery according to a class action lawsuit filed earlier this month by a disgruntled customer.

Zachery Taylor is the chief plaintiff who paid $218 in court fees to file a class action claim against Papa John's January 13, court records show in Madison, Illinois.

Papa John's charged 6 percent sales tax or 16 cents on top of a pizza delivery fee to Taylor, the lawsuit states. But Illinois state law forbids businesses to tax delivery fees, when the cost of running the pizza to the door has been covered by the delivery charge, according to a story in The Madison Record.

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Every Papa John's customer in Illinois, the newspaper reported, has therefore paid too much for delivery via the tax policy and could get a piece of any refunds if the class action lawsuit succeeds.

A large pepperoni pizza in Louisville costs $14, for example, but carries a $2.74 delivery fee if brought by a driver. The delivery fee is calculated on Papa John's website as part of the entire taxable order. As a result, the $1 tax brings the total to $17.74.

Papa John's spokeswoman Allison Isakson did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

Jere Downs can be reached at (502) 582-4669, JDowns@Courier-Journal.com or Jere Downs on Facebook.