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Including taxes in the sticker price is bad. It allows the government to quietly increase taxes without people noticing. Sales taxes are in general regressive

by smt88 3y ago

Including taxes in the sticker price is bad. It allows the government to quietly increase taxes without people noticing. Sales taxes are in general regressive and harm lower-income people the most, so they should be visible and attributable to government.

wolfendin 3y ago
The price goes up on everything so I’m not sure how you think it’s without people noticing.
jen20 3y ago
So break them out on the receipt. I have no desire to learn what the tax rate is for X in any state at all (since I cannot vote to change it in any case), what I am interested in day-to-day is the all-in price of whatever I’m about to buy. Eliminating junk fees (looking at you, AT&T) is a net win for reducing cognitive load. The idea I should have to learn the tax rates of the multiple jurisdictions I may or may not be in just to serve your political views is fucking asinine.
kelnos 3y ago
> Including taxes in the sticker price is bad. It allows the government to quietly increase taxes without people noticing. Oh please. When taxes go up, people notice. In California, new taxes have to be approved directly by voters, even. If you choose not to be civically engaged enough to notice new taxes, that's your problem. This is the same dumb argument people use for not allowing the IRS to send us a pre-filled tax return. Instead, we flush billions of dollars a year down the toilet on tax prep.
- JumpCrisscross 3y ago
  > In California, new taxes have to be approved directly by voters Prop 218 [1] is unique to California. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_California_Proposition_218 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_California_Proposition_21...
shortcake27 3y ago
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but people in countries where sales tax is included in the price (which is virtually every other country in the world), are well aware of sales tax. Many countries also exempt sales tax from essential groceries, which is not true for all US states. So the idea that the US model is somehow good for lower-income consumers is laughable.
ThePowerOfFuet 3y ago
Print a breakdown on the receipt, as here in Europe. Problem solved.

by smt88 3y ago

wolfendin 3y ago

The price goes up on everything so I’m not sure how you think it’s without people noticing.

jen20 3y ago

So break them out on the receipt. I have no desire to learn what the tax rate is for X in any state at all (since I cannot vote to change it in any case), what I am interested in day-to-day is the all-in price of whatever I’m about to buy. Eliminating junk fees (looking at you, AT&T) is a net win for reducing cognitive load. The idea I should have to learn the tax rates of the multiple jurisdictions I may or may not be in just to serve your political views is fucking asinine.

kelnos 3y ago

> Including taxes in the sticker price is bad. It allows the government to quietly increase taxes without people noticing. Oh please. When taxes go up, people notice. In California, new taxes have to be approved directly by voters, even. If you choose not to be civically engaged enough to notice new taxes, that's your problem. This is the same dumb argument people use for not allowing the IRS to send us a pre-filled tax return. Instead, we flush billions of dollars a year down the toilet on tax prep.

JumpCrisscross 3y ago
> In California, new taxes have to be approved directly by voters Prop 218 [1] is unique to California. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_California_Proposition_218 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_California_Proposition_21...

shortcake27 3y ago

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but people in countries where sales tax is included in the price (which is virtually every other country in the world), are well aware of sales tax. Many countries also exempt sales tax from essential groceries, which is not true for all US states. So the idea that the US model is somehow good for lower-income consumers is laughable.

ThePowerOfFuet 3y ago

Print a breakdown on the receipt, as here in Europe. Problem solved.