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I got to thinking about this the other day. I went to a store, and bought a bottle of soda marked $1.89. I got to the register, and it rung up as $2.04, tax and deposit included. So if I have to hand over two dollars and four cents in order to buy the soda, why the heck can't that be what they put on the tag? Why on earth have we allowed merchants for so long (and evidently, in some areas, even required them) to essentially lie on the price tags, and list items for sale at anything less than what the customer has to hand over to buy the items.
Is it nice to know how much tax I am paying? Yes it is. But at the end of the deal, the only thing really relevant to my end of the transaction is how much has to come out of my pocket. I don't have a choice in paying it, anyway. It is irrelevant to me that the store only gets to keep $1.89 of the $2.04. If $2.04 is what I have to hand over, then that's what ought to be on the tag. I can't be arsed to memorize the sales tax rates of everywhere I visit, nor should I have to.
It's certainly annoying to have to deal with mental arithmetic to figure out the real cost of an item, especially given that some jurisdictions have sales tax rates that are out to three decimal places (6.785% in Minnesota, for example), or to charge different rates depending on where you are or what you are buying.
Advertising a price at anything less than what customers actually must pay is dishonest, and ought to be illegal.
I got to thinking about this the other day. I went to a store, and bought a bottle of soda marked $1.89. I got to the register, and it rung up as $2.04, tax and deposit included. So if I have to hand over two dollars and four cents in order to buy the soda, why the heck can't that be what they put on the tag? Why on earth have we allowed merchants for so long (and evidently, in some areas, even required them) to essentially lie on the price tags, and list items for sale at anything less than what the customer has to hand over to buy the items.
Is it nice to know how much tax I am paying? Yes it is. But at the end of the deal, the only thing really relevant to my end of the transaction is how much has to come out of my pocket. I don't have a choice in paying it, anyway. It is irrelevant to me that the store only gets to keep $1.89 of the $2.04. If $2.04 is what I have to hand over, then that's what ought to be on the tag. I can't be arsed to memorize the sales tax rates of everywhere I visit, nor should I have to.
It's certainly annoying to have to deal with mental arithmetic to figure out the real cost of an item, especially given that some jurisdictions have sales tax rates that are out to three decimal places (6.785% in Minnesota, for example), or to charge different rates depending on where you are or what you are buying.
Advertising a price at anything less than what customers actually must pay is dishonest, and ought to be illegal.
So you don't want to know how much the government is skimming from us on a purchase? the store advertises it's price, it's not its fault the guv wants to tack on their extra taste. It would be deceptive if it were included
So you don't want to know how much the government is skimming from us on a purchase? the store advertises it's price, it's not its fault the guv wants to tack on their extra taste. It would be deceptive if it were included
Deceptive how? I'm not saying the tax should not still be itemized on the receipt. I am saying that merchants should not be allowed to quote a price on an item that is anything other than the price the customer actually has to pay to walk out with the item.
What is deceptive is telling me an item costs X, when it actually costs X+Y. When I make a decision to buy an item, the relevant price is how much I have to hand over to walk out with the item. How the money is divvied up after the transaction is of no relevance to whether or not I purchase the item.
Take my soda above: the only things that were relevant to me at the time of purchase were the fact that I was thirsty, and the fact that I had to hand over $2.04 to quench that thirst with sugary, bubbly deliciousness. Knowing that the retailer has to hand over a dime to the state and a nickel to whomever deals with bottle deposits, is no more relevant to me at the time of the transaction than knowing that they paid Coca Cola 90¢ (or whatever the wholesale price is) for the bottle they are selling me for $2.04.
what are you, new to shopping? this has been the practice since long before my mother was born in 1937.
So what? "That's the way we have always done it" is not a valid argument for why it should continue to be that way.
Ever have a yard sale? Would you put $1.00 price tag on an item and then tell them it's actually $2.00? Most people would not, because they rightfully recognize that doing so is dishonest. What if the sales tax was 100%? Should they be allowed to advertise the price at $1.00 and then charge you $2.00 at the register? Even if it had been done this way for 10,000 years, it is no less dishonest.
Ever been to New Hampshire, or another state that doesn't have sales tax? Shopping there is a breeze, because there's no need to do any mental multiplication involving multiple digits after the decimal point to figure out how much you will actually have to pay.
So you don't want to know how much the government is skimming from us on a purchase? the store advertises it's price, it's not its fault the guv wants to tack on their extra taste. It would be deceptive if it were included
THIS^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I want to know what I'm paying in tax, and what the store is charging me for an item.
To the OP: Why on earth would you need to have it co-mingled? It's such simple math that it barely counts as effort to figure it out on the spot... otherwise take a calculator with you.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CoastalMaineiac
So what? "That's the way we have always done it" is not a valid argument for why it should continue to be that way.
It has been done that way because it's the proper way. You're coming back at people as if you came up with some earth changing idea. It's calculating sales tax in your head, not rocket science... for Gods sake!
The dishonesty isn't charging the tax on top of the items you purchase - it's that they are being taxed in the first place! Take your whine to your Governor and state assembly, or move to a state like Delaware which doesn't charge sales tax. Problem solved.
I agree with the op, the full price should be on the price tag, that's how its done in most places around the world. I would want the price, and taxes to be be listed on the receipt.
I want to know what I'm paying in tax, and what the store is charging me for an item.
To the OP: Why on earth would you need to have it co-mingled? It's such simple math that it barely counts as effort to figure it out on the spot... otherwise take a calculator with you.
Because I should not have to bother, and because I don't have every jurisdiction's tax rates memorized. Do you do all your shopping in one jurisdiction, where every store charges the same tax? I live in New England. Maine's sales tax is 5.5%, New Hampshire doesn't have one, Vermont's is 6%, but municipalities can add their own on top of that, Massachusetts' is 6.25%, Rhode Island's is 7%, Connecticut's is 6.35%, and municipalities there can add their own on top as well. I don't have those figures memorized, I had to look them up, except for my home state and New Hampshire.
Truth in advertising should mean that they advertise a true price, and the true price is nothing less than what I have to hand over at the register. Sales tax can still be itemized on the receipt for people who want to know, but the fact of the matter is, if the amount makes you mad, there is nothing you can do about it; the store is not letting you leave with the item unless you pay the true total, so why not advertise it that way in the first place?
I'm not going to include state sales tax on the prices of items because customers can be pretty finicky - they'll drive elsewhere to get the same item for $.25 less. And spend more than $.25 in gas to do so, but it's their money, their time and their choice.
So look at it this way - if I change all of my prices to include sales tax, I could lose business because my prices will be perceived as higher than the guy's down the street or a town over. They'll go buy the same item priced lower, pay the sales tax at the register and think they just saved a few bucks, when they didn't.
Trust me, I could put up HUGE SIGNS stating that sales tax is included in the price on/of an item and they won't be read. As it is I have a HUGE SIGN on the door where I keep a specific item - the sign states to pay for it first, then pick it up on your way out. You don't want to know how many times a day people do the exact opposite.
I'm not against including sales tax in the price of an item, but until all of my competition does as well it's not going to happen.
Take your whine to your Governor and state assembly, or move to a state like Delaware which doesn't charge sales tax. Problem solved.
And here I thought this was a forum for discussing political topics. I wasn't aware that writing to congress or the Governor about it was a prerequisite for having a discussion, although I beat you to the punch, as I had already contacted my representative about this before posting here.
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