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Americans in the states that haves sales tax, which is most states, basically ignore it. It's known that the price tag isn't what you pay but it's generally not
by johncessna 5y ago
Americans in the states that haves sales tax, which is most states, basically ignore it. It's known that the price tag isn't what you pay but it's generally not much. No one here looks twice when your 2 dollar coke suddenly becomes $2.16.
Of course, depending on where you are, your 2.16 coke could also jump up to 2.21 or 2.26 because of the bottle deposit. And then another 2.34-2.42 if there's a sugar tax. It could even go up to 2.46 - 2.54 depending on if you buy that coke in a store vs a restaurant.
There's some hyperbole there, but the cities and states get to tack on their own taxes for whatever reason and the public largely doesn't care.
- xur17 5y agoThat said, it makes me really hate paying with cash (because then I have to deal with a lot of random change).
- smegger001 5y agoOh they care, A few years ago WA instituted at sugar sin tax on candy and soda, and it was rapidly repealed by ballot initiative the same year. It didn't help that the definition of what was considered candy was extremely arbitrary. (the rule of thumb was if it contained any flour it wasn't "candy". so a Twix or Kitkat wasn't candy but Payday was) Then there was New York Soda size cap that was almost immediate overturned in court challenges before it could even take affect.
- bobthepanda 5y agoMessaging and targeting are very important. Taxes make a pack of cigarettes $12 in NY but this was done slowly over time. And the loud protests have turned into teeny grumbles. Though it also helped that Mike Bloomberg is not a man Big Tobacco can buy, given the fact that he is one of the richest men in town already, in a very wealthy town.