- cross-posted to:
- Obviously@europe.pub
- trump_watch@lemm.ee
- cross-posted to:
- Obviously@europe.pub
- trump_watch@lemm.ee
Who besides everyone with half a brain could have seen this coming?
Who besides everyone with half a brain could have seen this coming?
It’s the same argument I have at the store when I try and make the store pay sales tax. “Well, it saaaaaid $9.99 and I only have $10.00 on me.”
Have you tried what civilized countries do? Like putting prices including all taxes on the price tags?
No, that’s crazy talk. We like to be surprised when we pay for taxes and tips.
It’s because we don’t use a VAT, so taxes are not consistent rates by item or by locality. So for small shops with irregular supply chains, you price the thing however matches your bottom line, then let the register do the work on the final price.
For large chains, it’s about consistency. The McDonals 99 cent menu might vary state by state and city by city from the $1.25 menu to still $0.99. An advert for a TV at Walmart would have to list dozens of different prices applicable across the, many within a nominal price of each other.
There’s practical reasons, and Americans seem to think a VAT is essential communism (why, I have no clue), so its not likely to change any time soon.
So if the register knows the price, why do you leave normal people hanging? For me, that sounds highly unpractucal not to know what an item costs, or being forced to know all the local taxes and do the calculation myself.
Because the benefit is that we’ve habituated ourselves to a system where $9.99^plus tax^ is both good advertising, and it means that the vendor passes the tax on to the consumer. As if they can just their up their hands and say “Sorry man, I don’t like it either. Here’s how much you owe the government.” Gas prices all include a tax of 9/10 of 1 cent per gallon for the same reason.
It also likely stems from early on implementation where no one was sure of the vendor actually paid all those taxes after all, so it’s a bit of “added transparency” even though it’s not really.
Of course, it’s 2025, this would be an easy thing to undo, but Americans are creatures of habit as much as anyone else. Try and charge a Boomer $10 even and say tax is included, they will absolutely think you’re ripping them off.
It’s proven that disguising the tax convinces the ignorant consumer the product is cheaper than it really is. So stores don’t include taxes on the price tag, and lobbyists work hard to prevent it being legislated.
That is the only reason. It’s not transparency, this is the exact opposite.
That’s why I put it in quotes. Its sarcasm to us, but sounds legit to the ignorant consumer.
People from New Hampshire when they go anywhere else
People from anywhere else when they go to America :(