Re:Sales tax creates more unnecessary pain than value added tax
by int_19h on Friday December 11, 2020 @09:23PM
(#25394736)
The way it is in US is deliberate - the premise is that you want people to be aware of how much tax they're paying, on the basis that they would be more politically active about taxes if they knew.
There are other countries with sales tax which don't have this cultural quirk, and where prices normally (whether by custom or by law) include the tax.
Re:Sales tax creates more unnecessary pain than value added tax
by peteretep on Friday December 11, 2020 @10:34PM
(#25395230)
> What is also great: all products targeted at consumers must contain VAT price.
Took this far through the comments to get there. There’s a lot of competition for “the worst thing about America”, but it tops my personal list.
Re:Sales tax creates more unnecessary pain than value added tax
by Fnoord on Saturday December 12, 2020 @05:07AM
(#25397202)
(Also @int_19h)
The mandatory tipping culture is another one. If it is mandatory, add it in the price. Tips should be earned. At least in Europe I know what to expect upfront.
The imperial system is another. Makes it unnecessary difficult to convert units.
Its difficult to change such illogical customs though. They're deeply ingrained in the culture, which is in many ways a dominant culture.
Re:Sales tax creates more unnecessary pain than value added tax
by peteretep on Saturday December 12, 2020 @06:30AM
(#25397609)
Mm, that’s interesting, because as annoyed as I am about sales tax, I find myself not at all annoyed about the 10% automatically added to my bill for service in the UK or 7% in Thailand.
What is also great: all products targeted at consumers must contain VAT price. If it isn't mentioned, it is assumed it includes VAT. They don't get away with "oh sorry, forgot to mention VAT" at checkout.
Contrast that to every time I buy something from USA its like "oh, you gotta pay your duties" bwam extra ~20+% on price, and all prices in online discussions which are US-centric (e.g. comparisons on products such as recently Airpods Max) do not include tax (whatever you want to call it).
Different VAT throughout EU can be annoying though. Price comparisons within EU, for example. Regularly, Amazon Germany seems cheap or cheaper than Amazon Netherlands. With Prime, shipping is free either way, so sounds good, right? Until you go to checkout, they figure you really do want to ship to The Netherlands (my default and only address whilst logged in, go figure) and bwam price adjusted without being mentioned. Though that might be an Amazon specific issue.