I was looking at a grocery receipt, and there are three different tax rates depending on the items. The receipt doesn’t even specify which items are taxed at which rate - just the total at each percentage.
I understand the goal of lower or higher taxes on groceries is to incentivize purchasing healthier options over more processed foods, but does it really affect purchasing decisions when the final price of the items is opaque to the consumer?
I think part of it (not a big part, but part) is that taxes differ so greatly in the US because of so many governments’ hands in the pots that it would discourage business in one town and have everyone flocking to a nearby town with less taxes.
As it is, you pay what you pay and don’t really realize the difference unless you take time to notice. I’ve only become aware of it because I realized how different my usual order at McDonald’s will differ when I’m in different cities.
In one city, my Big Mac meal will be $10.62 but in the next, it’ll be $9.35 because the taxes differ depending on where you are buying this with local city, county, and state.
If McDonald’s in Everytown, Maine showed their actual Big Mac meal price of $10.62 but the next city over in Somewhere, New Hampshire showed their Big Mac meal price at $9.35, more people would drive a little further to Somewhere for the obviously cheaper price with Everytown McDonald’s locations would suffer.