The "Kosher tax" is an anti-Semitic canard or urban legend spread by far right and neo-nazi organizations. It refers to the claim that food producers must pay an exorbitant amount to obtain the right to display a symbol on their products (usually a K or U in a circle) that indicates it is kosher or parve and that this cost is passed on to consumers through higher prices which constitute a "kosher tax". In fact, the cost per item for obtaining kosher certification is miniscule (estimated by the New York Times as being 6.5 millionths (.0000065) of a cent) and is more than offset by additional sales to not only Jews who keep kosher but Muslims who keep halal and particularly vegetarians who want to ensure that what they are eating contains no meat products and thus seek products that are certified as parve.

As well, obtaining certification that an item is kosher is a voluntary business decision made by companies desiring additional sales from consumers (Jewish and non-Jewish) who look for kosher certification when shopping. If it were not profitable to obtain such certification (that is, if profit from increased sales did not more than offset the cost of certification and, as "kosher tax" theorists claimed, actually added to the product's price thus making "certified as kosher" products more expensive and thus less competitive) then food producers would not engage in the certification process.

External links

• The Kosher Nostra from the Urban Legends Reference Pages
• The Kosher Tax myth from the Anti-Defamation League
• The "Kosher Tax" Fraud from the Orthodox Union
• Dispelling a rumor from Boycott Watch (www.boycottwatch.org)