Sales tax is not a new occurrence

[Andara Bledin]

I love being in Australia, prices here legally have to have the sales tax already added so the price you see is the price you pay. Means you don't get any nasty suprises at the register. Also means you don't have to remember what things have GST and which don't which is a godsend at the supermarket where some food does and other food doesn't. And everybody makes sure things are nice even amounts. Bless

That only works when taxes are an even amount. Here in Los Angeles county, the tax rate is 8.25%. That means for every dollar, we pay a quarter-penny more than 8 cents. And I prefer it to be less than a full percentage, because then they don't raise it a full percentage point when it goes up. But it really sucks for those who have to deal with all that change all the time.

I was not even referring to the insurance, which as you pointed out is actually optional. I am talking about the difference between their advertised rate and the actual rate, after they add in all their taxes, fees, surcharges, etc. Ricockulous![/SIZE]

Oh. I've never run into that, myself. I rent from Fox (until they stopped taking debit cards) and Thrifty, and the rate they advertise is the rate they charge, with the regular tax rate on top. And when I book for my boss with Hertz or Avis, the apporximate final total is given during the reservation process with a disclaimer about insurance and gas/miles.

^-.-^

[Jester]

And when I book for my boss with Hertz or Avis, the apporximate final total is given during the reservation process with a disclaimer about insurance and gas/miles.

Oh yes, the FINAL total is given to you DURING the reservation process, but it is nowhere NEAR the advertised rate.

I am not saying they are totally duping people. Just that they are advertising X when in reality the rate for that car for that time is X+Y, with Y not being a small number.

[FenigDurak]

I understand why big chains and stores don't standardize the prices on their shelves. But if YOU are setting the prices for your store in the hospital, it sounds like you could list the prices with the taxes already included in them. I have been in some places that do do that, and will sometimes even have a sign to that effect.

After reading your post, I started thinking about that. I looked around the store (yes, I'm at work. I'm moving and have disconnected my internet at home for now) and took note of the things we set the price on and the things that the price is already set on.

We carry magazines and paperback books that the price is set before we even receive them. We carry some food items that the price changes every week because of weather (nuts from California as an example) and many things that have a different tax rate in our county. So it's just not really worth it to us to go around and calculate the tax on something and change each and every sticker.

I did mention it to my boss though. She wasn't keen on it since we can't seem to get the three employees to agree on pricing right now anyway. :-P

[greensinestro]

I hate that. Working in a phone call center, I dealt with this all the time when a customer received their first bill, and they were upset that it wasn't exactly $32 "like I was told it would be!" Ugh! I used to ask these people if they recall hearing anything about this price being quoted as "plus tax", and of course, they would all say they were never told that.

But on a different note, I hated the ones who I would tell them "It's $35 plus tax" and I would get the third degree of "how much to the penny will my total bill be?" Our systems were not integrated to calculate all of the taxes charges by local, state, and federal governments, and I would always advise these customers that the taxes could always change. Oh, and never mind the SC's that would call in when their bill jumped two measly cents from the previous month.

[greensinestro]

Finally i got annoyed enough to call a manager to come deal with it. So what does the manager do? Refunds this woman the tax that she never paid in the first place! Oh boy was i steamed about that one.

I know I would have been, too, but that goes on everywhere. I'll be that lady knew she did not pay the tax on it, and was not going to leave until she got it back. She probably wore that dress once, then returned it knowing she would make a profit. Plus, your manager knew that woman would have stayed there all day until she got her way, so it was better to give it to her.