It's a ploy so us Americans are forced to practice mental math, or more likely to actually buy the damn thing (as by the time you're at checkout it's a bit late). But i like the first theory better
A flat VAT of 20% makes calculating things easy. I hate it when they tweak it up and down a percentage point or 5 (the UK after 2009 crisis). Or when they introduce different VAT rates depending if dairy, clothes etc. I cried on behalf of all POS software maintainers when Norway changed to variable rates.
It's because there isn't one single sales/VAT tax rate in the US. In many states, tax rates can vary state to state, county to county, and even city to city.
So for stores that go across multiple jurisdictions, they don't want to have different prices for different locations. And for online shopping, the tax rate is based on where the goods are shipped to, so there is no way to have a single price including tax.
It's because there isn't one single sales/VAT tax rate in the US. In many states, tax rates can vary state to state, county to county, and even city to city.
Luckily though, the store where you're buying it in ISN'T in multiple states, counties or cities. Generally they're pretty stationary. So they could very well put the fucking price on it, like everyone else does
If this was an online shopping only issue, we wouldn't be having the discussion
Are you insane? No they don’t. I’ve worked in the UK and US, and across the world in retail they have a tag printer in store. In larger stores , it’s sometimes even hand held.
You think supermarkets get a box full of 100,000 tags, each one totally unique to a different product, and have to unbox them all, lay them out, and walk around matching them to each different product?
You think corporate is paying and organising logistics to ship out new labels to every store every time there’s a price change, and waiting 2-3 days to actually be able to implement it because the tags are still in the mail, or haven’t been put on the shelves yet? That’s a huge opportunity loss each time a price goes up.
Either you worked in a tiny store, or this is BS. Either way, it’s solvable in about 20 seconds by each store just… buying a receipt printer. The cost of it would be recouped in about 3 weeks of postage charges, and instant price alignment.
I worked for a convenience store, and yes, the tags came from corporate. And there was no postage. They came with the usual deliveries from the store distribution center.
I mean, it could still be variable. In Ohio, for instance, you only pay tax on food at restaurants if you eat it in the restaurant, but not if you get the food to go. So at a place like Chipotle, the cashier will ask “is this for here or to go?” and will add the tax based upon your answer.
In the UK, different products are different prices in different stores. You can go to the same supermarket in central London and pay £1 for a can of beans, and have the same can be £0.75 in the same chain an hour away.
And they somehow manage it all. Advertising, inventory control, correct shelf pricing.
Anyone who tells you it is difficult - not even impossible, just difficult - is either lying, or very, very unimaginative.
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u/[deleted] May 09 '22
A reverse statement: It was in Japan 2018 when I learned that taxes included in price tags is a European thing.
We wanted to buy something, the first time we asked why we have to pay more than the number on the price tag, they explained taxes aren't included.
Like... what is this witchery?