In message , at 22:14:34 on Sun, 22
Jan 2012, " remarked:
That's a risk in some countries, and even in the US many merchants won't
accept bills larger than $20 (though the risk is obviously the same
whether someone counterfeits a $100 bill or five $20 bills), but that's
not the real problem. Modern currency is very difficult to counterfeit
well enough to pass even a cursory examination.

Most people in the Eurozone are reluctant to accept 50-euro notes. I
think that they were even planning to pull the 500-euro note.

On the other hand, the Swiss will accept ludicrously high denomination
banknotes without turning a hair.

There's also the time it takes to count the customer's money and, if
applicable, make change. This is particularly bad in the US since taxes
are not included in the price, so the total due is rarely known before
the order is rung up.

Why is that, I wonder? I think that is also the case with the GST and
PST in Canada.

As well as making everything appear cheaper, there's the issue of sales
tax varying from county to county. You can easily drive a mile and find
sales tax is 1% higher or lower. Stores (and let's face it, most are
multiples) tend to want to advertise and mark goods at a consistent
price, which can therefore only be the pre-tax price.
--
Roland Perry