Board, 1% to 1.3% for City/Town). New Orleans (coterminous with Orleans Parish) collects the maximum 5% tax rate for a total of 9.45% on general purpose items. For food and drugs the tax rate is 4.5%, for a total of 8.95%. Louisiana bids out sales tax audits to private companies, with many being paid on a percentage collected basis. Maine Maine has a 5.5% general, service provider and use tax (raised, temporarily until further notice, from 5% on October 1, 2013). The tax on lodging and prepared food is 8% and short term auto rental is 10%. These are all officially known as "sales tax". Maryland Maryland has a 6% state sales and use tax (raised from 5% in 2007) as of January 3, 2008, with exceptions for medicine, residential energy, and most non-prepared foods (with the major exceptions of alcoholic beverages, candy, soda, single-serving ice cream packages, ice, bottled water [including both still and carbonated water], and sports drinks). While most goods are taxed, many services (e.g., repair, haircuts, accounting) are not. Maryland's sales tax includes Internet purchases and other mail items such as magazine subscriptions. Maryland has a "back-to-school" tax holiday on a limited number of consumer items. On July 1, 2011, the selective sales tax on alcohol was raised from 6% to 9%. On January 1, 2012, Montgomery County began levying a 5-cent-per-bag tax on plastic and paper bags provided by retailers at the point of sale, pickup, or delivery (with few exceptions, most notably bags for loose produce in grocery stores, bags for prescription drugs, and paper bags at fast-food restaurants). Four cents of this tax goes to the county's water quality fund, and one cent is returned to the retailer. Massachusetts Massachusetts has a 6.25% state sales tax on most goods (raised from 5% in 2009). There is no sales tax on food items, but prepared meals purchased in a restaurant are subject to a meal tax of 6.25% (in some towns voters chose to add a local 0.75% tax, raising the meal tax to 7%, with that incremental revenue coming back to the town). Sales tax on liquor was repealed in a 2010 referendum vote. Sales of individual items of clothing costing $175 or less are generally exempt; on individual items costing more than $175, sales tax is due only on the amount over $175. There have been attempts by initiative petition referendum voting