Why don't price tags show the after-tax price? In most countries this
is standard, and in the US we do require it for a few things like
gasoline and airline tickets. It's much more convenient for consumers
because you know what something's going to cost and can have your
money ready. The only advantages I can think of are relatively small:
- Keep people aware of taxes to feed anti-tax sentiment.
- Sell more stuff with a lower visible price.
- Lower apparent inflation.
None of these seem big enough to merit keeping us with the current
system. Is this a situation where we have concentrated benefits and
diffuse harms, so no one pushes to change it as strongly as the
current beneficiaries push to keep it?
(Some example
rules.)
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