Episode 554: How The Burrito Became A Sandwich

NPR

We all know what a sandwich is. It's something delicious, slapped between two slices of bread.

But when it comes to taxes, nothing is simple.

Today on the show, what regulating sandwiches and all other takeout food tells us about taxation. And how something as simple as the sandwich sales tax ends up spawning a complicated list of definitions, interlocking exemptions and rules which somehow transform the burrito into a sandwich in the eyes of the law.

Music: Louis Armstrong's "All That Meat and No Potatoes" and The New Pornographers's "The Laws Have Changed." Find us: Twitter/ Facebook/ Spotify. Download the Planet Money iPhone App.