Comment on [USA] How can sales tax brackets affect purchasing behavior when prices are pre-tax?
aubeynarf@lemmynsfw.com 2 months ago
Good argument for the price inclusive of tax to be the price shown.
I think it’s fairly uncommon for sales taxes in the US to be intended to incentivize behavior - moreso, they are for funding local government and higher taxes are placed on things that are politically palatable in local elections - hotel rooms or restaurant/alcohol sales come to mind.
So I just don’t think we’re well practiced at mechanisms that make them work as a point-of-sale incentive, and changing the way a single class of items are priced would be complicated and surely receive pushback from retailers and the industry involved.
ozymandias117@lemmy.world 2 months ago
My belief that it’s intended to incentivize behavior is from talks about things like the “soda tax,” where some goods are taxed at a different rate to try to reduce consumption
I don’t understand how they can be effective when you don’t see the price on the sticker, though
AA5B@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Things intended to incentivize healthier behavior are generally referred to as vice taxes, and yeah, we don’t do well at those.
We have nice tax to discourage smoking, drinking alcohol and probably a few other things but they’re completely ineffective. They really need to be a lot higher and to be more well known. For example, I have no idea what the alcohol tax in my locale is so it does not affect my behavior. Actually, the neighboring state advertises no alcohol tax so the only affect might be taking a road trip to stock up on alcohol. I do support the idea of raising that until it hurts to choose alcohol, except that it would hurt most those who can afford it least.
aubeynarf@lemmynsfw.com 2 months ago
Yeah, I agree the tax needs to be visible in the price to be effective