Re:Two more restaurants in Toronto just got rid of tipping
by petre on Tuesday August 18, 2020 @01:22AM
(#24195559)
I wonder why does harmonization always infer a higher tax than the previous one. If we'd had harmonized VAT in Europe I guess it would be like over 20% and those with 19% or lower would end up paying more.
In Canada, the provincial sales tax differs in each province. The federal rate is 5%. Alberta has no sales tax, whereas Ontario charges 8% (post-harmonization it's a HST of 13%).
In the US, the sales tax differs not only by state, but by county and city.
The tax situation in Chicago is particularly bizarre.
The sales tax in Cook County, where the city of Chicago located, is 10.25%. The sales tax one county over (say Dupage County, 15-20 miles outside the city and still part of the greater Chicago metropolitan area) is 8%.
Restaurants in the City of Chicago (but not other parts of Cook County) charge 10.75% because there's a city-specific restaurant tax.
The different tax rates create strange arbitrage opportunities. If I buy an iPhone from an Apple Store a few miles outside Chicago, I get an automatic 2.25% discount.