Another "In the UK" anecdote coming up; be prepared. In the UK, VAT is included in the asking price, and everything is calculated while taking VAT into account. Makes things a lot simpler, if you ask me.

In the UK it is included. You know how much something is before you pick it up. No hidden charges.

Requiring the manufacturer to label the final cost would be prohibitively expensive because of the nation-wide variance in sales tax. Here in Oregon we don't have a sales tax while next door in California it can range up to 9%. Which leaves the retailer on the hook. Things purchased for resale are generally not taxable so the calculation of sales tax would have to be done in reverse. Stores like Costco which sell a lot of items intended for resale would have a headache on their hands. Better to leave the system as it is and let the computerized cashiers' machine do the figuring depending on location, nature of the sale, etc. I get that it would be nice to eliminate the hidden cost of sales tax by including it in the actual price but it would create as many problems as it solves.

This is standard in Australia...

It would make sense.

Isn’t that the way it is in Europe... sales tax is included in the advertised price, I mean?

Yes. You should know the "bottom Line" that you will be paying. No additional service charges, to be sneakily added in with the notice in minute illegible typeface.

Hitting "yes" because there is no real reason for them /not/ to be upfront about total cost

The problem is that different states have different sales tax levels. Some states, like NH, don't have a sales tax at all. So it would be problematic for a company to track this for 50 different states (and other countries) they may sell their product to.

Taxation is regional. Only thing that would happen is prices to go up to cover labor dollars. If you’re not math savvy enough to do calculations in your head, then deal with it.

I would think that if the price displayed included the tax then in 2018 a computer system could list the tax separate on the receipt. i've even seen it break down the STATE % and the CITY and the COUNTY which equeled the 7.75% sales tax you might see on a reciept at a different place.

Australia, like the UK, has upfront pricing. I've lived in the USA and I thought the system there was silly.

From what I've been told, that is illegal. Also, that would muck up the people who buy things with a sales tax exemption since they aren't required to pay it.

Other.
I think items should be priced with tax included.

Fun Fact: Hawaii has no sales tax.

I live in New Hampshire-Live Free or Die motto-one of the last bastions of no sales tax. People come to NH to buy liquor, appliances and home furnishings Grocery.Retail Pricing is based on price point regardless of changes made by manufacturers to the size (ounces) of the item. $.99, $199, 2/$5. So sales tax included would upset their price points and the grocery industry will never do that.

I agree with the idea of upfront pricing being a good thing in some ways, but it wouldn't work in a country like the US. We would have to establish a uniform national tax first. I can't see that being done any time soon. We are a union of independent states, after all. Each state has needs to be met and its own hierarchy of autonomy for counties/parishes and municipalities.

It could be done, but it would be incredibly complicated.

It seems to me that every person purchasing something should be aware that paying sales tax is part of. Do we need to always cater to stupid.

I live in Oregon, too, and we don't have sales tax. It also seems to me that sales tax is moderately variable, so if you include it in the price, it would be harder to see how much the government is taking from you, giving them leeway to take more.

Sales tax should be abolished. It is a regressive tax. It is also a tax on money in motion, which is something we want to promote and stimulate. Stagnant wealth should be taxed to increase the velocity of money and money in motion should be as "free" for the individual as it is for business.

In Louisiana its 10% which is easier to figure at the end but having your tax already included would be easier to figure before the check out line.

Yes, sale tax must be up front. I'm ok with higher sin taxes too, you have choice's. Like tobacco, alcohol and anything that is a high risk to your health. Just not income tax, that is burglary by a cop at gun point.

Yes, but in North America we live in is controlled by oligarchs that want above all else to cheat us.