European or US? Should the price include all taxes an other fees?

Apparently in Europe the stated price is the final price. In the US the final price is the given price that you see but then you are charged for everything else they care to ad on including Aunt Mables wedding . Example, and there are so many, I bought a room at the Holiday Inn on Priceline for $65. The charge to my card came out as $80.45 because it included taxes and fees. I just happened to to find out they also charge $14 for parking. So I went from $65 to $94.45. What a country! Freedom........

Lets see if we can extend this. I get paid say $2,000 a month. But we have to ad on to that the cost of travel to work, taxes and lunches so my pay should be $3000 per month?

My phone service is $12 per month but my bill is $23 a month because there are about 10 different taxes, ect added on. We all know about car rental ad on fees.

I posted a new subject because it came up about the airline fares and what is added on to them. This was on another post.

I agree that the price displayed should be the price you pay. I find it strange in the US when you get to the till and you are still wondering how much to pay whereas here I can have the exact change ready.
I realise it's due to all the different sales taxes, although I saw the strangest take on this on O'Reilly on Fox when he stated that in the UK they "hide the tax so you don't know what you are paying", so he was stating that we are somewhat underhand in it when most people I know who have been to the US prefer that we already display it.

It sometimes works both ways, as I've seen UK websites that list prices without VAT included, and then when you get to the checkout you see the price with VAT included.  It's not everywhere, but there are some electronics and auto parts websites that list prices this way.

I've often thought there would be open rebellion in this country if people consistently saw how much they are paying in VAT.  I know everyone knows the rate, but if they really saw it every day going out of their purse I think they'd be more upset.  I do feel there's some complacency because they are just used to considering the price with VAT the total price instead of price + tax. 

For instance, I bought a sofa a couple weeks ago and didn't realize that it was at one of those rare shops who show prices pre-VAT until we went to buy in.  I about had a heart attack when the price went up by nearly £200.   It left me feeling steamed that I was giving up that much of my money to the government in just one purchase.

I know it's convenient to know the exact price ahead of time, but I never found it difficult in the states.  You grow accustomed to having a bit of a mental tally in your head and since it isn't that much of a tax rate (compared to 17.5%), it isn't really that much more usually.  I think it's only really difficult when you aren't accustomed to a sales tax being computed at the till.

Showing the VAT separately would be necessary if you are visiting and you are going to claim a refund when you go back to the US.

Just a thought!

Just to add in here that in Oregon since there is no sales tax the price on the shelf is the price you pay...which is why when I lived in California just south of the Oregon border if I had a large ticket item (like a TV or appliance) that I wanted to buy I would drive the hour-ish to Oregon to get it and enjoy a nice day out at the same time.

I was always annoyed that Idaho (right next to OR as well) tax law required that you reported any purchases in states that didn't have sales tax when you filed your income tax and they would charge you tax on them!!  The nerve!

Apparently, on one of the electronic tax software programs (TurboTax?), there's a line that asks you for the amount you spent shopping tax-free online so you can voluntarily fill in a number and pay that tax. 

I wonder just how many people fill that in.  Other than my FIL, who was dismayed when his small refund disappeared. 

I think I would buy a whole lot less in the UK if VAT wasn't in the ticket price, and if I wasn't lazy and mentally calculated it each time -- like I do back in the US in states with sales tax on certain items.  The thought of it going to 20% is not appetizing at all.

Just to add in here that in Oregon since there is no sales tax the price on the shelf is the price you pay...which is why when I lived in California just south of the Oregon border if I had a large ticket item (like a TV or appliance) that I wanted to buy I would drive the hour-ish to Oregon to get it and enjoy a nice day out at the same time.

When I lived in Oregon I remember this being fairly common. Since I lived in the northern bit, we got a lot of people from Washington as well since it was easy enough to pop across the river to buy something expensive and have a day in Portland or whatever.

But it was a fair trade since loads of Oregonians would go back over the river into Washington to get fireworks for the 4th of July due to the loads of restrictions on fireworks that are in Oregon (they can only go a certain height off the ground, so if you wanted a big bang you went to Washington to get the 'illegal fireworks' as we called them).

I, too, most recently lived in Oregon before moving to London and was used to not paying any sales tax. (and having someone else put the petrol into your car... joy!!!) And technically, if you were a resident of Oregon, you didn't have to pay sales tax in another state on most items.

So, I guess the European system is better. It's nice to pay what the shelf price is, and not have to figure in any sales tax.

It left me feeling steamed that I was giving up that much of my money to the government in just one purchase.

Where do you think they get the money to run the country?

Where do you think they get the money to run the country?

Income Tax for a start!

Income Tax for a start!

Any government gets its income from a combination of taxes. They have to tax things that people do, like earn money, smoke, drink, buy stuff, drive automobiles, whatever. It's a fact of life. I don't see the problem. How much you want the government to do is a political position about which different views are possible.