Comment on As the Canada "tax holiday" starts, Walmart increased the price of an item by the amount I would have saved

x00z@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

• i_stole_ur_taco@lemmy.ca ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Explain your math. It’s absolutely 100% benefit to the seller and 0 benefit to the buyer.

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  • x00z@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    How so?

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    • i_stole_ur_taco@lemmy.ca ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Last week, a vendor sold an item for $10. With tax, that item costs $12. Let’s pretend a 50% markup (which is reasonable for retail but insanely high for groceries):

      • they made $5 profit
      • they recouped $5 for their costs
      • they collected $2 of tax for the government

      Now the government has a GST holiday and there’s no tax. I went to the store and bought the item and it still cost me $12.

      • they made $7 profit
      • they recouped their usual $5 for their costs
      • they collected $0 of tax for the government

      The main thing is that their costs for that item didn’t increase and they’re still selling it at its original ”final” price (because they added the tax amount to the sticker price). That tax savings went straight into profits. It was intended for the consumer to save money but the consumer is spending the same amount and the government isn’t getting anything. That money went somewhere.

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      • x00z@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        That wouldn’t pass consumer protection laws in my country.

        If they were honest, my claim still stands.

        If they are not, well, then it’s probably against consumer laws in Canada too.

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