I just looked it up and it was actually the opposite: vegetables were taxed and fruits were not. Then somebody argued that they shouldn’t have to pay and the court decided that yes, botanically speaking tomatoes are fruit, but in their ordinary meaning (which is used in commerce and trade) they are a vegetable. And that a tomato is used and prepared like a vegetable so it should be classified as that.
Because Fruits were taxed higher than vegetables, so importers started listing them as a vegetable.
It’s tax dodges all the way down.
I just looked it up and it was actually the opposite: vegetables were taxed and fruits were not. Then somebody argued that they shouldn’t have to pay and the court decided that yes, botanically speaking tomatoes are fruit, but in their ordinary meaning (which is used in commerce and trade) they are a vegetable. And that a tomato is used and prepared like a vegetable so it should be classified as that.