On 23-Jan-12 07:58, Adam H. Kerman wrote:
John Levine wrote:
My understanding is that most prices in the US are quoted net of tax
for purely political reasons, that the tax sceptics in the legislature
want everyone to be aware of what the tax rate is, and how much the
state is collecting.

I see nothing contrary about giving the consumer actual useful information
about how his bill breaks down.

That same goal could be easily achieved by requiring merchants to list
the taxes paid _after_ the total.

So, rather than this:

Item 1 $1.99
Item 2 $2.99
Item 3 $3.99
Item 4 $4.99
Subtotal $13.96
Sales Tax $1.15
Total $15.11

You could have this:

Item 1 $2.15
Item 2 $3.24
Item 3 $4.32
Item 4 $5.40
Total $15.11
(Sales Tax $1.15)

Of course, merchants aren't dumb, so you'd likely see this in practice:

Item 1 $2.00
Item 2 $3.25
Item 3 $4.25
Item 4 $5.50
Total $15.00
(Sales Tax $1.14)

All the same information is there, but now the customer can figure out
the exact amount due _before_ he gets to the register, and it's a round
amount that will be easy to have ready or make change for. Everyone wins.

S

--
Stephen Sprunk "God does not play dice." --Albert Einstein
CCIE #3723 "God is an inveterate gambler, and He throws the
K5SSS dice at every possible opportunity." --Stephen Hawking