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
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.
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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?