I mean don't get me wrong but whenever we go to America we always tip and follow the norm, but it's totally abnormal to us here in New Zealand. Here the minimum wage is nearly $23 and tipping just isn't a thing here. I'm pretty sure in most places around the world tipping isn't normal is it?
I agree it's weird to go somewhere where it is normal and not do it, but I absolutely hate the idea of it so I get where they're coming from.
I also hate how prices of shit on shelves in USA is shown without tax. Here in NZ everything is shown prices with tax
I know you have three dollars and that candy bar says it costs 2.99, but you can't buy it... Because it might cost you 3.21, or perhaps more or less depends on what state city your in (we are in a border town).
For YEARS i was confused about movies or videos that showed people not being able to pay for their groceries because they didn't have enough money at the cash register.
I was confused because I didn't understand why they couldn't sum it up as they put it in the bin. It's not until a few years ago I learned about how the prices are set there and how tax varies and only shows at the cash register.
Oh wow. I have never lived in a place where you have to add tax separately to the items you are buying, so never knew that was a thing.
I know not everyone is good at maths, me included, but it still sucks that the item you are buying will be taxed further at the till, considering that it might already have taxes levied against it already.
Maybe I am wrong on the last part, are the items you purchase tax free and then the tax will be added when you pay for them?
In Canada you really have no clue at a grocery store because certain food items are taxed and some aren't. Just assume everything is getting taxes and bring 13% extra (unless there's alcohol then just get effed)
In Massachusetts the tax isn't included and is 6% but food isn't taxed unless it's a prepared food like a premade sub or food from the hot bar or if the store sells cooked and ready to eat pizza or something. Now it's pretty easy for me to figure out because my phone has a percentage button on my calculator that pre installed. It's a little annoying to have to add that up myself but still not too hard when I bother to. I think those types of scenes in movies are largely for dramatic effect anyways but I have seen it in real life where people do get to the register and realize they don't have enough. It's usually by a lot though, like their purchase is $200-300 and they realize they only have $25 and you wonder how they didn't have enough money but then you see they have a food stamp card and just haven't been tracking their spending or how much is left on the card
Correct, they don’t show the taxes until you pay at the cashier. In the US, everything is taxed every step of the way. If a food manufacturer makes a product that is sold to a grocery store, that sale is taxed, then the product is taxed again when it is sold to a consumer. All of the raw ingredients that the manufacturer had to purchase to make the product were taxed too. So, it depends how many transactions it takes to get from raw ingredients to consumer. And by the way, the money that the consumer used to buy the product was already taxed when they got their paycheck from their own employer. So your taxed when you get your money, and taxed when you use it.
If you buy a used car, it’s taxed even though the car was already previously taxed when it was sold new. Every time it’s sold to a new person, it’s taxed every time. The gas to use the car is taxed. Every year you have to pay a registration fee to keep your car’s license up to date, which is a form of tax.
Property taxes aren’t just paid once when you buy a house, you have to pay them every year. And when you sell your house, there’s a tax on any profit made from the growth of the home’s value. Not to mention real estate agents taking 6% of the home’s value for themselves when the sale is completed.
And this doesn’t even get into taxes on dividends or investments.
In Europe the companies are registered in a tax database so that the only real tax is the one at the end (end client sale). The mid-chain companies do not have to pay VAT or are reimbursed if they do and declare it. Sales to end chain client are always taxed.
In my country we don't have yearly registration fees for cars, you pay once and that's that,
You are taxed on your salary, but it also covers health insurance and retiremement funds as the company pays a share of it. So we end up better served.
Property taxes are paid annually as well. Value added tax on sale is only if you sell within ten years of buying. After ten years you don't pay it.
And when you enter a shop, the price on the items are what you are supposed to pay, not the net price and add the taxes on the price yourself. :)
This sounds much better! Employers here pay half of the health insurance premiums and employees pay the other half, but healthcare here is so expensive anyway so if the healthcare plan isn’t very good, it’s going to be very costly if you have to go to the hospital for anything non-routine. Employers here also typically provide a match on retirement contributions, but it’s usually only in the 4-6% range.
I know. That's the reason why I refused a job in the US. I have a long term illness, it is 100% covered by the public health system here. I would be ruined in the US.
In Virginia, most non-food item sales are taxed at 5.3%, along with prepared food and alcohol; ingredients/staple food items are taxed at 1%, and many healthcare products are not taxed.
However, localities can also add additional taxes for restaurants/“meals”, which can take it up to 8% or 10%, and that’s entirely separate from any tips.
I can tell you it was the nastiest surprise we had while visiting the US. I mean, who put the price without taxes instead of the price you have to pay on an item?
The only time I see this happen in my state is when liquor is being sold and you got see the entire price with tax. But sometimes that doesn't even happen lol.
It's even worse because some cities charge multiple taxes when you get to the register because they separate municipal, county, and state taxes on the receipt.
You can only attempt to do that when you’re in a familiar area where you know what the local tax rate is. Plus there are plenty of items that are taxed more or less depending on what they are. Alcoholic drinks are often taxed higher while raw ingredients like vegetables are often taxed less.
Frankly, it’s also considerably more time consuming if you want to keep a running tally. You have to save the previous total, multiply the new item by the tax percentage, then add the previous total back in. Instead of simply adding as you go.
It’s just completely unnecessary. We should stop hiding additional cost.
“Those” people? I made no assumptions about the type of people that might be financially struggling. I only pointed out that it’s an unpredictable and unnecessary burden.
I’ve not been paycheck-to-paycheck in over 20 years but I have been before. Yet, I’ve always been extremely good with math. Luckily, I didn’t have kids to support back then. There’s a lot of reasons someone might have a tight budget and the situation is not necessarily their fault. It doesn’t automatically mean they’re stupid.
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u/doxjq Aug 28 '24
I mean don't get me wrong but whenever we go to America we always tip and follow the norm, but it's totally abnormal to us here in New Zealand. Here the minimum wage is nearly $23 and tipping just isn't a thing here. I'm pretty sure in most places around the world tipping isn't normal is it?
I agree it's weird to go somewhere where it is normal and not do it, but I absolutely hate the idea of it so I get where they're coming from.
I also hate how prices of shit on shelves in USA is shown without tax. Here in NZ everything is shown prices with tax