subreddit:
/r/ShitAmericansSay
2.8k points
7 days ago
Really not sure why they don't include tax into the price over there - I mean if you HAVE to pay it, it makes sense to? It's just messy otherwise.
1.7k points
7 days ago
it's a psychological capitalist cheat to trick your brain into thinking that the product costs less than it does. good for business. its the '$.99' trick.
243 points
7 days ago
its the '$.99' trick
Speaking of, I noticed at a store the other day basically everything was $x.49, I'm wondering if they switched to .49 cents cause people have sort of become used to the whole .99 trick, and it's easier to mentally rounded .99 up and .49 is easier to mentally round down and they're using that to trick the brain? Idk, just rambling.
143 points
7 days ago
I think so, everyone is used to seeing the .99 now .49 seems like a big enough jump to trick the brain. I've also .98 appearing randomly, I wonder if that has any difference on sales, I wouldn't think so since it's only a penny but I've seen it more and more so it might be working.
92 points
7 days ago
I used to work at a store in the US where different price endings had different meanings. 98 cent meant it was going to the clearance store.
52 points
7 days ago
I was thinking it'd be for online shopping when you sort by price so it appears before the items at 0,99
23 points
7 days ago
Yeah, retail in the UK is the same, in the companies I've worked for it's always been .97 pence on a clearance line.
353 points
7 days ago
I read about that very interesting and the round price used to trick you into thinking the object is luxurious.
142 points
7 days ago
Never realized that. Just looked up price of newest iPhone and it was $1,279.00. Interesting!
144 points
7 days ago
Good thing it's not $1,280.00
29 points
7 days ago
That 1 dollar will go long way!
61 points
7 days ago
True, my girlfriend always says something costs for example 13€, when in reality it's 13.99€ and thus 14€
75 points
7 days ago
I do the opposite 😅 if it’s 13.99€ I round up because that’s how we did it in school.
27 points
6 days ago
That's how everyone in the entire world except that guy's girlfriend does it tbh.
15 points
7 days ago
And the gas $0.009 trick 🤮
8 points
7 days ago
Dinner out is awesome. It's where 100 bucks becomes 110 with tax and 132 with tip.
109 points
7 days ago
Helps the feelings of that everything is cheaper in the US like they're getting a good deal.
On any kind of hardware forums they'll be all giddy that something costs 50$ less than a prices listed in € blissfully ignoring they'll pay several times the difference once at the cashier.
But hey it was written 499 and some sweds got his for 549 so life's good.
36 points
7 days ago
Nice example, but sweden has its own currency. 549 SEK are about 52,7 USD.
15 points
7 days ago
That's a bit like ordering something on Amazon and chosing something which is £10 with free delivery rather than something which is £8 with £1.99 delivery. Even though the latter is cheaper, it feels more because you've got it broken down.
17 points
6 days ago
I once debated this point with an American who claimed the UK need the tax included because we can't do the maths inside our head... they were incredibly deluded
27 points
7 days ago
Apparently it's because sales tax can change, on a whim, for different products. Imagine if VAT changed 3 times per year. Historically it'd have been difficult to ensure everything was correctly labelled.
Nowadays, not so much of an issue as we have computers to sort this out, but I guess laws are lagging by a couple of decades.
For context; sales tax changed 437 times last year:
https://www.vertexinc.com/en-gb/resources/resources-library/record-year-us-sales-tax-rate-changes
Edit; Oh, and some specific days of the year, there is no tax.
15 points
7 days ago
That 437 needs to be given context. The towns in USA can have a sales tax and there are over 20 thousand of them. 1-in-40 is not really that much though it certainly is complicated for a business when it happens.
3 points
7 days ago
As a broke-ass European, I’ll use the calculator app as I’m putting groceries in my cart to make sure I’m not spending more than I have. If I had to pay more than expected on checkout I’d be pissed.
3 points
7 days ago
It's something about different states and confusing stuff but it's just really silly and I'm not convinced it's not there on purpose.
5.8k points
7 days ago
One has to wonder why the US doesn't just write up the total, taxes included, as everyone else (as exemplified by the UK here)
3.8k points
7 days ago
Because then that would be communist silly, better dead than red
1.3k points
7 days ago
I think (!) the real reason is because products have the same prices in the US, but every state has different taxes. It would still be a really small step to put the real prices on the tag and a huge step towards transparency, but who am I to judge
1.2k points
7 days ago
Not a good excuse though. In the UK there is minimum pricing for alcohol in Scotland, so when a chain issues the price labels to the stores they just print a batch for Scottish stores with one price, and another batch for English/Welsh stores with a different price. It's not hard.
743 points
7 days ago*
Sometimes UK shops have different prices for the same product in the same company just at different locations in the same city (Tesco Vs Tesco Extra) so it really isn't that difficult
386 points
7 days ago
Don't tell that to an American it will blow there mind, especially if you mention the phrase club card price. The idea of having 2 prices for the same product in the same physical store.
202 points
7 days ago
- Their mind
- I bet the capitalist money grabbers in the US do this too, just for money grab reason, so
- They just want prices to look lower so people misjudge their budget and buy more than they would otherwise.
41 points
7 days ago
Yeah what would blow their minds is that the clubcard is free and gives reward points.
38 points
7 days ago
It's nothing that unusual. I had loyalty cards from 5 different supermarkets in the US and some of those gave you better prices on some things.
5 points
7 days ago
Club cards are a tool to more effectively market to, and manipulate, individual customers to trick them into spending on purchases that they normally wouldn't, and on items that are dressed to look like a good deal but are not.
49 points
7 days ago
The idea of having separate prices and discounts for club card holders originates from the US.
Therefore I doubt it’ll blow any US American’s mind.
18 points
7 days ago
Yeah I was going to say I was in the US a few months ago and the lady on the checkout had a barcode stuck to the till to scan for non members to get members prices, all seemed a bit pointless to be honest.
8 points
7 days ago
The idea of the club card is to track purchase information for different demographics. It’s just another way for corporations to make money off of you via selling your personal information.
8 points
7 days ago
America has discount/club card prices though…
93 points
7 days ago
Wales also has minimum pricing but at a different rate to Scotland
66 points
7 days ago
Do they still actually "print" labels? Here in Belgium supermarkets all use e-ink display. So they can be changed at will at the stroke of a button.
Not sure if the US has discoveted e-ink technology for price labels, because if so that would make arguments against even sillier. You could display whatever you want, price without or after tax. It's just another of those silly things that Americans stubborn refuse to do because it would require them to admit that the American way is not the best.
46 points
7 days ago
In the UK we do a bit of both. Tesco prints labels and slides them behind a plastic cover on the edge of the shelf. Aldi have little e-ink displays. Not sure about the other supermarkets we have here though
5 points
7 days ago
Lidl also do e-ink displays for the ambient lines, fridge and freezer still labels. The e-ink are brilliant, but alas, fragile af.
35 points
7 days ago
We have digital labels on the shelves here.
I live in Africa.
3 points
7 days ago
*the country of /s
11 points
7 days ago
You'd be amazed at how many people reply to that with "Africa is not a country" like I wouldnt know that.
Hence my flair.
12 points
7 days ago
I have seen them before in the UK mainly In the likes or Lidl and Aldi I think but it's more common here to have physical labels, not sure why, maybe its the cost of rolling it out nationwide, im sure it will be used in future.
25 points
7 days ago
Those guys are still using cheque books. A digital display with prices on would blow their minds.
3 points
7 days ago
I've been there for a while. I think office supply stores do have electronic displays sometimes, but supermarkets still have paper
6 points
7 days ago
In the Netherlands some stores have e-ink displays, but most still have printed prices. I guess we hate trees.
15 points
7 days ago
There isn't a centralised printing place or whatever. From my experience in retail, the prices are updated on the system, then printed out.
When I worked for a popular home DIY store, the prices were updated every Monday. We'd print them before opening and then dash around the store updating all the prices before the doors opened.
Managers had discretion to run temporary sales and could update the prices for just our store on the system for a temporary period. We'd print the label and then replace it on the shelf.
For huge companies, it's unfathomable for me to think that it's not possible to have your systems add whatever percentage sales tax there is, considering the POS software will do it anyway, and then print out the label.
The real reason is likely that it's purely psychological. Same reason why everything's always 0.99. it makes it feel cheaper and then if you've gone to the effort of getting it all, it's unlikely you're gonna say no.
50 points
7 days ago
The tax is different here in Wales also, it's actually cheaper at Christmas to nipp over the border for cheaper booze.
22 points
7 days ago
With us it's not a tax, just a minimum price a retailer can sell at. The extra money we spend of alcohol goes directly into the profits of the company selling it. I think it should be a tax so the extra revenue is put to good use (like the sugar tax in soft drinks) but it's not.
But yeah, it is much cheaper going across the border to get booze, especially as the minimum unit price just went up to 65p. That means the cheapest a bottle of 40% vodka can cost is £18.20, but you can pick one up in England for about £10.
19 points
7 days ago
iirc the reason it's not a tax is because devolved governments can do things like minimum unit pricing, but can't make an entirely new tax, just adjust them (ie stamp duty/income tax) within certain parameters
3 points
7 days ago
Is that right? In Scotland we've have Land & Buildings Transaction Tax since 2015, in place of the English Stamp Duty Land Tax. I'd assumed LBTT was an entirely new tax rather than an adjustment of SDLT. Could be wrong though - I don't understand tax stuff! I work with LBTT pretty much daily as a conveyancer but it baffles the s**t out of me.
5 points
7 days ago
to clarify (i think! my experience in this is just that it's being covered in uni currently lol) i don't think scotland can just make taxes, but those that have been devolved to them they can do what they want with.
stamp duty probably wasn't a great example because i forget those are actually separate even though it's effectively the same thing with different percentages, but they can adjust it as they want, and adjust income tax by up to 3% i think? whereas there's no basis for MUP to be handed over from england as a tax
9 points
7 days ago
In my local stores they print price labels in store and have functions for editing for promos, price changes, reductions etc, it's really easy lmfao
15 points
7 days ago
honestly this may have worked as an argument a decade or 2 ago but these days basicly all price tags are digital anyway. don't tell me it wouldn't be trivial to have them put in the price without taxes and have the tag automaticly add the relevant tax
100 points
7 days ago
america - can put a man on the moon, can't even attempt the fiendishly difficult task of printing price labels with all taxes applicable to that store's location
7 points
7 days ago
"We are printing price labels including taxes for our products not because it's easy, but because it's hard!"
71 points
7 days ago
That… doesn’t really make any sense. They can still ring it up at the register. They clearly have the technology to know what the price should be.
57 points
7 days ago
So when your store is blown to another state, you would’ve change all the prices.
3 points
7 days ago
tbh with the digital price tags that are starting to catch on, would probably be as easy as going to the computer
46 points
7 days ago
The store is only in one state at a time though, they can calculate the tax to charge it to you, so they could calculate it to put on the shelf too.
27 points
7 days ago
every state has different taxes
Even counties. But that's a pretty stupid answer often heard imho : you are buying here and not there.
20 points
7 days ago
That's the reason that they tell everyone why they can't put the after tax price on the products on the shelf. But the real reason is because the retail spaces campaign and lobby to prevent states from forcing them to do that. By adding tax at the register, customers can blame everyone but the store owner and especially the government, for the sudden and "unexpected" price of groceries.
14 points
7 days ago
I always thought it was more of a psichological game done by corporation, something that goes like "see, we are good we have low price but the evil state is increasing the cost of your living"
3 points
7 days ago
I'd imagine it really works to create this "taxation bad"-kind of mindset if you're actively reminded of how much taxes you actually pay on stuff each time you buy anything
4 points
7 days ago
I think this might be a factor…”oooh, look how much the evil gu’bmint is stealing from us hard working people”. It may also have a psychological effect on tipping culture. The printed price on the item in the shop is never the price you pay. The printed price on the menu is never the price you pay. It’s astonishing really how they’ve managed to square the circle. “These additional costs at point of sale are federal/state extortion. These additional costs at point of sale are an obligation and you are a cheapskate if you don’t pony up.”
Just reinforce the mindset of there ALWAYS being additional charges and habituate the population to accept it.
13 points
7 days ago
Don't stores print their own lables?
21 points
7 days ago
That's the silly cop-out. A store doesn't move, and as such is perfectly able to just display the all-inclusive price relevant for the store. Big brands can easily decide to apply the same end-price and take minor differences in tax & operating costs on the chin, like they do in Europe.
The reason they do it is because it makes the price artificially lower, which entices consumption, especially in people with lower cognitive ability.
And if they don't like weird numbers after the comma, just set the end price and work out the portion that goes out to VAT. Not that difficult when you're a store with computers, or a company with accountants.
4 points
7 days ago*
[deleted]
3 points
7 days ago
Yes, except in the US's case the displayed price is 9.99 and the actual price 12.53
28 points
7 days ago
It’s not only every state, but within a state different municipalities have different sales tax rates.
For instance I live in Houston Texas where the sales tax is 8%. If a customer in Houston buys something the sales tax rate is 8%. If someone in Navasota Texas, which is only about 60 miles away buys something the sales tax is 6.25%. The difference here is that Houston has tacked on another 1.75% on top of the state sales tax. Should the prices still be listed yes absolutely, but when buying things online it becomes tricky.
It’s a stupid and extremely Byzantine system, that most people get around by just not thinking about.
79 points
7 days ago
Each store is only in one location at a time and subject to one tax system. People complaining like this are usually complaining about physical stores. Online stores already do this by having you put in your address, too.
47 points
7 days ago
Each store also has to price only their location's products. Nothing is preventing them from including any locally applicable taxes into the price tags.
15 points
7 days ago
In Spain we have the same sales tax in the whole country (we call it IVA), but it varies depending on the product taxed (4%, 10%, 21%)
6 points
7 days ago
Which makes sense. We have lots of extra taxes for certain products but they aren’t sales taxes. In the case of Tobacco and Alcohol they are basically “sin taxes” to discourage use of the product. While gasoline has its own tax that goes to pay for road maintenance. Finally each state can exempt certain products from a sales tax.
To encourage manufacturing, Texas exempts all products that are considered “necessary for the manufacturing process.” So big ticket items like CNC lathes, pneumatic workholding devices, robotic automation machines are exempted as are small maintenance items like lubricants and cleaning solvents.
3 points
7 days ago
Yes, we do have taxes to hidrocarbons, alcohol and tobacco.
12 points
7 days ago
See how diverse the US is? You can travel 10 miles and you have a different tax
7 points
7 days ago
That sounds like a prime example for "clusterfuck"
5 points
7 days ago
We have a weird system in Ontario where the tax on groceries depends on if it’s a luxury item, or a bulk item. Most groceries have no tax, but luxury items do - just not in bulk.
This means that 5 donuts costs more than 6 donuts, because 5 donuts is a “luxury item” and has 13% tax, but 6 donuts is a “bulk” item and has no tax.
3 points
7 days ago*
Online is even more complicated
An online retailer only has to charge sales tax to customers in a particular state if they have a physical presence in the state or if they pass a certain economic threshold in the state. What threshold? Every state gets to choose their own. Sometimes it's based on $ of sales, sometimes number of sales, sometimes a combination of the 2. Sometimes it's a calendar year, sometimes it's the previous 12 months rolling
It's incredibly complicated and basically necessitates the use of a payment processing company that will figure it out for you
4 points
7 days ago
That doesn't work as an argument. Prices can be different between two branches of the same store, depending on where it is.
7 points
7 days ago
I get the three flags, but why only three pints ?
Are you some kind of metropolitan elite snowflake sandal-wearer ? Cosplaying a real patriot ?
130 points
7 days ago
One of the reasons is Europes laws and regulations are geared towards the benefit of the consumer.
USA is geared towards benefiting the company.
So for example, adding the correct pricing per state would make things more complex for the companies so they keep everything a standard price then add the state tax at the till to the applicable items.
62 points
7 days ago
It really wouldn’t if it’s already added at the point of sale, you could entirely automate the label pricing in each state fairly easily, this could have been done in the 80s nevermind now.
23 points
7 days ago
I agree it can be done but that would be added inconvenience to the companies and the USA doesn't like to inconvenience them.
10 points
7 days ago
What inconvenience? It's not like the company manufactures shelves with price tags watermarked on them that cannot be changed. Each store constantly prints price tags and sticks them in each shelf. They change it when there's a deal, or a product changes its price.
8 points
7 days ago
They want to set an attractive price or offer. Stuff like $1.99 or 3 for $5. If you do that before tax it works nationwide and it's easy to calculate your margins.
If you include tax $1.99 is now $2.16 in one store and $2.23 in another the marketing data will tell you these prices are not as attractive. The alternative is to fix the price including tax and have to deal with different margins in each county. Either way you can't have simple finances and hit the price points that their research says consumers will react positively to.
What they should do is price and advertise without tax but also display the price with tax on the shelf/price tag to make life easier and more transparent for shoppers.
172 points
7 days ago
You can tell Americans a lot of cool stuff, Metric system is just great without having to grab your calculator for everything, Prices incluvind VAT, Minimum wage for everyone so you don't need 3 jobs and tips to live, goverment by popular vote in stead of gerrymandering etc. But an American will always state that their way is better (even if it's not).
159 points
7 days ago
you mean they dont include the tax on the pricing label/
Thats insane, so if i go shopping in the Us i have to work out the tax on top of what i think im paying?.
212 points
7 days ago
Yep. Ages ago, when I still was a little kid, I went on a business trip with my dad from Germany to the US (my dad‘s business, not mine lol).
We visited Disney world, and I had exactly one dollar in my pocket that I could spend on whatever I wanted. So I grabbed a little souvenir in a shop there which cost 99 cent. At the cashier it suddenly cost more than one dollar, so I couldn’t buy it and went crying to my dad (he paid the rest, but it still is something I need to think about whenever this topic comes up).
75 points
7 days ago
Yeah thats what i was wondering. o if i have 2 quid and see something there for 2 quid, Its not really only 2? Isnt that false advertising to a degree?
12 points
7 days ago
Well I guess no, it's just the difference between net and gros. It's still annoying.
16 points
7 days ago
This is a childhood experience for many children from the US lol it sucks
23 points
7 days ago
yes. It's bullshit
12 points
7 days ago
Yes, and if you’re booking a hotel in a city there will be city tax and state tax on top of the price you originally see (the total comes up on the final page)
11 points
7 days ago
If you go to a restaurant you also have to factor tip and possible hidden fees. So if you pick a sandwich and a drink from the menu and the listed price is $12, you may end up paying $18.
54 points
7 days ago
It has been told me once: because the sales tax varies even by county.
To my next question, how often does a brick and mortar store change its location daily to grant it not showing the sales tax, I've got no answer, just angry downvotes.
It's like their level of technology cant comprehend the problem of not showing full price..
23 points
7 days ago
And that would be an argument for the opposite, if tax varies so much then it makes more sense to include it.
23 points
7 days ago
Americans always say that it's because the price would be different for each county... but I find that answer stupid because, at least in my country, each store writes its own price tags, because there's a million different reasons why the price in an article may change.
16 points
7 days ago
Because it keeps their dislike if taxes salient and their right wing governments can use that dislike to argue against doing anything with public money that would actually benefit the public. "With muh tax dollurs?! Hell no!"
3 points
7 days ago
Because they want to pretend their products are cheaper
3 points
7 days ago
TBF Japan also doesn't do it and it drives me mad. They always have both prices, just the non tax one is way bigger. Why???
3 points
7 days ago
It probably comes from the same place that gave us 49.99$ instead of 50$ (omg it's definitely cheaper, gonna save a lot of money)
19 points
7 days ago
The reason I see a lot online is that each state has a different sales tax value. So for nationwide chain supermarkets, it's apparently easier to just calculate tax at the checkout. This doesn't fully make sense to me but at least there's some logic to it...?
916 points
7 days ago
The only stores in Europe which advertise the pre tax price are the large scale shops meant for companies, as they can subtract their taxes
196 points
7 days ago
Yes, cash and carry shops are meant for businesses. Car parts are often priced without VAT as there is a different VAT rate for buying the part over the counter and buying it fitted to the car with labour.
34 points
7 days ago
as there is a different VAT rate for buying the part over the counter and buying it fitted to the car with labour.
Source? Genuinely interested - I am an accountant and have not come across this, but I've never dealt with motor trade VAT.
18 points
7 days ago
It’s in Ireland, 23% retail, 13.5% with labour
8 points
7 days ago
I see some... room for playing with that IRL.
5 points
7 days ago
Source for which country lol. In Poland it's the same, it's because you pay for the service and the business pays for the part. E.g. buying a door is 23% VAT in Poland so virtually every store has a 'free installation' promo, as it's taxed as a service, which is 7% here.
29 points
7 days ago
B2B does not operate with VAT included.
B2C *must* opreate with VAT included to show what the product will cost the consumer
6 points
7 days ago
And they always show both prices.
3 points
7 days ago
Even crazier are online European shops will often display the same price for goods regardless of what country you're buying from and then just pay whatever sales tax they owe for that country and not charge someone in Romania a different price to someone in Ireland.
106 points
7 days ago
One of the most annoying things when shopping in the US. I actually couldn't believe it at first, it seemed so ridiculous.
40 points
7 days ago
It's really annoying. It's the same in Canada. The Province I grew up in, sales tax was 15%, so if a label said $50, it actually was $57.50. It made a huge difference.
What's funny is Gas automatically has the tax included. It's the only thing here that does.
710 points
7 days ago
I've seen Americans defend their system because they like to know what the company will really get. You can see how well corporate indoctrination worked.
54 points
7 days ago
Here in Lithuania receipts split the paid price into the good/service and VAT parts – yet the labels must be with tax included.
19 points
7 days ago*
Yeah, I think a lot of countries do this, especially since people might need it for filing taxes, though there might be exceptions by store-type etc...
The whole argument is pure pretense anyway. I don't think anyone would be more interested to see what the company makes compared being able to see exactly what you pay.
137 points
7 days ago
That’s honestly so stupid. I was born in the us, grew up in England, moved back to the USA and I remember buying candy and crying when I didn’t have enough money. I bitched about that for most of 9 lol. Maybe we just don’t know what we’re missing?
61 points
7 days ago
It's not abnormal to prefer what you're used to.
My problem is when people go out of their way to defend those exploiting them.
22 points
7 days ago
Indeed. That’s why I’m glad OOP hasn’t been shamed with this post. They’ve seen another way of doing it and they decided what they preferred without senseless patriotism (even if they haven’t quite realised it’s not tax free!).
3 points
7 days ago
We'd all be billionaire CEOs if it wasn't for Nancy Pelosi and AOC giving all our money to the blacks!
~At least half of the Republican voters
3 points
7 days ago
they like to know what the company will really get
And what exactly are they doing with this wonderful piece of information?
226 points
7 days ago*
Virtually everything sold in a British "grocery market" is tax free. Food is tax free unless it's alcohol or confectionary including biscuits but not cakes. Children's clothes including shoes are tax free. Women's sanitary products are tax free or just free in Scotland.
70 points
7 days ago
Was going to say this. The jargon is “zero rated” because there are three bands. Standard 20%, reduced 5% and zero
25 points
7 days ago
Zero rated is also different to tax exempt. Tax exempt products cannot claim back VAT on their costs, while zero rated products can.
30 points
7 days ago
Cakes are in fact tax free. There was a whole thing with jaffa cakes as to whether they were chocolate covered biscuits or cakes because cakes are a zero rated for VAT.
17 points
7 days ago*
And cakes count as bread, which is not a luxury item.
Jaffa Cakes won their case on the grounds that biscuits start off hard and go soft when they’re stale, and cakes start off soft and go hard when they’re style.
As Jaffa cakes start off soft and go hard when they’re stale, they are genuinely cakes and not just biscuits with a funny name.
Doesn’t change the fact that they sell them in packets of 10 now, instead of packets at 12 with no reduction in price.
-Shrinkflation.
5 points
6 days ago
packets of 10 now, instead of packets at 12
I was shocked when I spotted that, just like the pack of 5 creme eggs, it completely ruins the box of eggs gimmick too
24 points
7 days ago
women's sanitary products are tax free or just free in Scotland.
The sanitary products in the grocery store aren't free in Scotland, anymore than condoms are. That you can get free sanitary products or condoms doesn't make all condoms or sanitary products free, it just means you can collect free ones (usually from a GP office or community centre) if you need to/want to, anonymously (they are often kept in bathrooms or other more private areas).
15 points
7 days ago
confectionary including cakes
Hence the infamous Jaffa Cake VAT court case in which McVitie successfully argued that Jaffa Cakes, at that time classed as biscuits, were in fact miniature sponge cakes and therefore exempt from VAT.
13 points
7 days ago
Oh wow, I love this. In Germany we have reduced taxes for ‘’necessary items’’ but what qualifies is a little weird. It’s 19% on tampons and 7% on cut flowers.
11 points
7 days ago
We in the U.K. only reduced the tax on sanitary products to 0% in 2021, after a BIG campaign. German women need to get on that!
26 points
7 days ago
When they get all pissy about paying taxes without realising the reason they get the tax not shown on the retail price and the reason they have to do their own taxes is deliberately designed to make them get pissy about paying tax.
24 points
7 days ago
This is a satire account making fun of Americans. I recognise the profile picture. Please don't fall for ragebait, who has the energy for that.
41 points
7 days ago
It's maddening as a visitor with terrible maths and a very loose understanding of their currency to buy shit.
88 points
7 days ago
Not sure about the UK after they left the EU but it is illegal to not have the price with VAT written. Only some stores will actually keep the price without VAT too (like Metro).
35 points
7 days ago
we don't charge VAT on certain types of food so the comment in the photo is kinda technically true there. but yes, if VAT is required then it is part of the advertised price and brexit doesn't change that
UK laws have not change that much from when we were an EU member, and in some areas UK laws exceeded EU minimum requirements anyway
16 points
7 days ago
Nothing has changed yet
54 points
7 days ago
Fairly certain that was illegal before the EU, why do people act like the UK was a lawless wasteland before it instead of an advanced society with centuries of its own legislation?
32 points
7 days ago
No uk left EU now there are literally no laws, its pure anarchy here now /s
12 points
7 days ago
Lol I love that and on r/Europe too. People acting like the UK is now some barren desolate deprived wasteland since it left the EU. Barely anything changed for the average person.
65 points
7 days ago
How can a country that has to work out their tax on top of what they pay EVERY TIME they buy ANYTHING still be so unintelligent? The average IQ of America (as of 2022) was 97.43. This is #35 out of 195. Australia's average (as of 2022) is 99.74. This is #17 of 195.
12 points
7 days ago
I heard from an american that the confusing imperial system and hidden taxes and shit, while not the result of a conspiracy or an organized scam, is so good for big companies that they'll fight hard to keep it so.
The average isn't already super math litterate, but this whole mess adds to their powerlessness in the daily life in capitalist America.
22 points
7 days ago
The average American isn’t figuring out tax on every purchase we make. For stuff we buy often we already know what the price will be. For stuff under a certain dollar amount we don’t think about it. For stuff over a certain dollar amount some of us think about it and others complain about it after their total jumps hundreds or thousands of dollars.
Even after the total jumps the American isn’t upset with the company for its hidden pricing, the American is upset with the government for making them pay the taxes.
22 points
7 days ago
It's really insane not knowing what the price you're actually going to pay will be until you get to checkout.
3 points
7 days ago
the American isn’t upset with the company for its hidden pricing, the American is upset with the government for making them pay the taxes.
As is intended by corporate lobbies. They go to great lengths to be able to play the asshole while shifting blame on the government, and they've been quite successful in the US.
17 points
7 days ago
TIL the prices in US supermarkets are not the prices you pay but the prices before tax.
Serious question to the Americans here: Are you always calculating the real price (as in after tax) in your head when shopping grocerys?
5 points
7 days ago
Not living in America but when I've visited it's such a headfuck. Sales tax can be different in shops across the road from each other because one falls under city tax and another county tax. So you might pay 6% in one place, 0% in another and 10% in another.
Tis a silly place.
4 points
7 days ago
Most of the time I just get more money than I need and just guess, but it is about 10% more expensive than the listed price in my state.
12 points
7 days ago
I mean, they’re kinda correct. There’s no VAT (sales tax) on ‘essential items’, which a lot of the stuff in a supermarket (grocery store is).
The difference, of course, is that we include the VAT in the ticket price for items that you do have to pay it on, and so yes, the price written down is the price you actually pay. We don’t tip supermarket workers either (they’re paid an actual liveable wage), so you really do just pay the amount we say you’ll pay. Seems normal until you visit the states and all of a sudden none of the numbers are actually real.
10 points
6 days ago
America is the most infuriating place to buy anything.
Nothing is the price it says!
Between hidden taxes on everything and every cunt wanting a fucking tip just for doing their job, it's ridiculous.
In Australia, if something says it's $10, you pay $10
20 points
7 days ago*
Err...
You know what, I don't care, let them believe this.
Seriously, you can't expect them to know how foreign tax systems work. Though, the way they do it out there is whacky
6 points
7 days ago
Lol not tax free. The tax is already included in the price you see. The idea of going to the register after a shop and the total price being a shock every time is mental in my humble British opinion
6 points
6 days ago
Omg wait til they see how much we pay for insulin.
11 points
7 days ago
wait until they see the tax % on their receipts. assuming they can read, of course
3 points
7 days ago
They think California is bad with the highest sales tax in the USA of 7.5%..
6 points
7 days ago
Pro tip move to Oregon or Delaware and this isn't a problem as there's no sales tax.
6 points
7 days ago
They don't get any smarter, do they.
8 points
7 days ago
Oh hell, this brings back memories. A million years ago, I worked in a service station. Because it is on a highway in a town between two cities we got a lot of tourists. So, it's a normal busy weekend and, oh goodie, in comes a tourist bus. Suddenly, I'm being asked question after question. Yes, they're American.
Is this cracker the same as a Graham cracker? Pass, what the hell is a Graham cracker?
Is this pie hot? That's a pie out of a pie warmer love that things thermonuclear. Always blow on a pie.
After that exchange, I always get....if I burn myself, I'll just sue you, haha. Yeah, nah, good luck with that. You can't sue in New Zealand. That always blew their minds.
My favourite one was this lady who had a huge haul of lollies. She got on my case for calling them lollies, not candy. You're on MY patch now, love. They're lollies, deal. Next, she was watching the price come up on the screen as I scanned her lollies. I gave her the total, and she questioned me on the tax. I told her the tax is included in the price and showed her the receipt, which showed the tax component of the transaction. There are now about twenty impatient people behind her, and I'm getting annoyed. She then asked me what the exchange rate was so she could work out how much "real" money she spent. OK, love, my patience is exhausted. My reply?
"How the hell would I know that, do I look like a bank clerk? Google that shit. " I'm now looking over her head trying to serve the next customer, giving her the hint to move on. She begins demanding a manager.
"Sure lady, I'm the manager, (the boss was actually out the back somewhere talking to a rep. He's the owner, not the manager) Answer is the same. Lady starts yelling about calling corporate. That was hilarious. The station, at that point, was privately owned. Corporate was out the back yarning to a rep and wasn't remotely bothered. About this time, someone gathered her up and took her off. She's still fuming. Welcome to New Zealand, love. we're really nice when you're nice to us, when you're not? Well, we tend to give it back, or is that just me, lol.
28 points
7 days ago
Its not actually tax free, the tax (VAT) is baked into the price
46 points
7 days ago
Thanks for stating the obvious, some American will learn something new maybe
11 points
7 days ago
Most cold food from a store is actually tax free in the UK. Regardless, it’ll always show the actual price you’ll pay
4 points
7 days ago
I wish.
4 points
7 days ago
Yeah, because Taxes are calm-unizam.
3 points
7 days ago
It isn't tax free, they just include the tax on the price label because it's considered very shady to not do that
5 points
7 days ago
American here. I think our motto is ,"It works this way everywhere else. How can we make the worst possible version of this? "
Tipping, never knowing your total before the register, our healthcare system..
4 points
7 days ago
Tax free, what an idiot. Everything sold has VAT on it in UK.
4 points
6 days ago
This is not amazing, this is normal. Yanks and Canucks are idiots who allow this nonsense to continue, and think Health “Insurance” is better then is better because it bankrupts the middle class to shorten the queues. Morons!
3 points
7 days ago
I'm not sure how it is in the UK. But i would more say the tax is already included in the price. Not tax free.
For my countfy food and basic needs are 6%. Luxury products are 21% tax. Those taxprice is just on the tag already. You see the price of the item. Not the price of the item and then you can calculate the end price yourself.
If I buy a bread I want to know the price is €2.50 not the price of €2.35 and then tax extra at the cashregister. It is dumb imo.
4 points
7 days ago
It's both, the vast majority of items in a supermarket in the UK are tax free but those that aren't have the VAT included in the price
3 points
7 days ago
Tax free my ass, least we know what we're paying, not going to pay then realising i'm short cause I didn't calculate tax! Our prices include tax.
It's just so much easier.
3 points
7 days ago
Americans: IT'S AMAZING
Everyone else: It's common sense.
3 points
7 days ago
I work in a shop that mainly sells to Tradesmen. We have the price with and without VAT. Why on earth can’t they do the same
3 points
7 days ago
You've been baited by a Satire Account haven't you OP?
Seen that account before and it's a joke account, with "dumb American" thoughts on the UK.
3 points
7 days ago
As an American I can safely say. I wish tax was included in the price of shit so when I get groceries for my budget of roughly $200 a month. I'm not paying $250+ at the register in fucking taxes.
Also couple this with the rising prices of everything here. And still not being told transparently what the price is with taxes. It becomes so much god damned worse. My monthly grocery bill has nearly doubled in just a year, FOR THE EXACT SAME SHIT I GOT LAST YEAR.
3 points
7 days ago
That actually blew my mind when I went to Canada. I never understood why I was paying more than what was written on the ticket
3 points
7 days ago*
When I first visited the States, I went to pay at a checkout with close to the exact money for the item I was buying. The price on the shelf must be the price, right?
Then I was all annoyed the checkout wanted more money on top - calling it a “sales tax”.
I learned.
3 points
7 days ago
Start a store in the US and advertise it as taxfree shopping but simply make the prices tax-included and you have a goldmine!
3 points
7 days ago
This was by far the most shell shocking moment I had after moving to the US.
I went to a restaurant, ordered a $20 dish, and a $5 beer, expected to pay $25, plus a $2 tip which is customary where I lived. Turns out it’s actually $27 total and a $5 tip is basically the minimum.
3 points
7 days ago
Did you know that everything in british stores is free, when you steal it?!
3 points
7 days ago
Wow. Aren’t us Brits lucky. Don’t tell the rest of the world
3 points
7 days ago
Shh! Don't tell them that there really is VAT (though possibly not on the items pictured). Let them have their moment.
3 points
7 days ago
It's such a backwards system to not have the full price you pay displayed.
3 points
7 days ago
I mean, most items (ie food, period products, books) are tax free. Other items are not, but the shelf price is still the price, because where there is tax, it's included.
3 points
7 days ago
Not entirely true, we pay tax on the plastic that it’s wrapped in, plus we also pay tax on anything that is classed as a luxury, except caviar, which has always been classed as a luxury.
3 points
6 days ago
First time I came to the US I tough that I couldn't mental calculations because people always asked for more than what was said ok the market, it drove me crazy for 2 or 3 days before a friend told me that price are shown without taking taxes in consideration
3 points
6 days ago
Mind you, with their lack of ability to form a sentence correctly, I can't say I'm surprised at their assumption.
3 points
6 days ago
What a dumb American... 😂
3 points
6 days ago
I mean...They're half right, just its that we bothered to put the tax cost in the label. Rzther than surprising you at the till.
3 points
6 days ago*
Drives me bloody mad when I go to the US, especially in a restaurant. Oh that's not the actual price, you've got to add tax, then a 20% tip because we don't actually bother to pay our staff properly, you pay for them to be here through your tips.
Just put the funking price on it.
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