In a sales and use tax opinion, the Attorney General of Louisiana has stated that bottled water is not exempt from sales and use tax. The sale of bottled water does not fit into the Louisiana sales and use tax exclusion for water “sold directly to the consumer for residential use.” That term includes the furnishing of natural gas, electricity, or water to private residences and for which residences are separately measured or metered. Bottled water also does not fit into the sales and use tax exclusion for “Water (not including mineral water or carbonated water or any water put in bottles, jugs, or containers, all of which are not exempted).” If water were to be treated as food, it still wouldn’t qualify for the exemption for food sold for preparation and consumption in the home. Bottled water does not require any preparation to be consumed in the home and thus does not qualify for the exemption. (Opinion No. 10-0296, Louisiana Attorney General, February 16, 2011)