I'd defend the practice, but there's a certain attractiveness to just showing me what my financial liability is. You start with sales tax, then you exempt certain classes of consumer goods from sales tax, then you impose an extra eighth of a percent on purchases made within this or that economic district (usually to help finance a stadium or megamall), and pretty soon, your consumers don't have any idea what their tax liability is going to be when they check out.
Over time, one does develop a vague sense of how much their purchases will be taxed, but I would definitely support a measure that required merchants to charge no more than what's on the tag.
Comments
I'd defend the practice, but there's a certain attractiveness to just showing me what my financial liability is. You start with sales tax, then you exempt certain classes of consumer goods from sales tax, then you impose an extra eighth of a percent on purchases made within this or that economic district (usually to help finance a stadium or megamall), and pretty soon, your consumers don't have any idea what their tax liability is going to be when they check out.
Over time, one does develop a vague sense of how much their purchases will be taxed, but I would definitely support a measure that required merchants to charge no more than what's on the tag.