Why does America add tax onto things you buy?

because tax can vary depending on the area, state, coubty and city. an item is a certain price and if you live in an area which doent have a school or buses or many other 'civilized' things, they don't have the same tax rate as a place which has all the 'free' stuff...

The UK has an equivalent tax - its called VAT. It is a legal requirement for businesses selling to consumers to include the VAT in any prices they quote. Otherwise I suspect that many business would leave it out because it makes the prices look cheaper. As far as the US is concerned different states have different sales tax rates so one reason to exlude the tax from the price tag is to enable easy comparison between the same goods in different areas. Also, I think there are rules relating to "out of state" residents not paying the same sales tax as locals (eg they pay their own rate). So if there are multiple rates that customer might have to pay the only feasible thing to do is to display the net price and then add the tax on at the checkout.

It is a well known marketing strategy ~ it makes you think you are paying less. sometimes prices are just under the dollar mark, like $8.99, or $29.99 to make you think you are paying less than $9 or &30. Taxes are collected by each state, it is called a sales tax. It is supposed to go to the state treasury to pay for roads, state expenses, public lighting, police, fire, rescue, etc., anything expenses that come from the state's general fund. The idea is also so visitors to the state contribute to the state coffers and leave more of their money in the state. The expectation is that visitors will contribute more, in sales tax per year, than residents of that state.

Because that's how Americans pay for that ROAD you were driving on to get to Orlando. And that's how they pay for the Rest Stops along the interstates where you stopped to use the bathrooms and walk your dog. And every state has a SET PERCENTAGE. So, if you can DO MATH, you can figure out what the "real price" is. In my state, for example, the tax rate is 7.75%. It's not hard to add that to whatever the price tag says.

Tax is added on to things in the UK. If you have a car and get your bill from the garage its there at the bottom ie VAT. Its on all services like getting in a plumber, electrician, TV repair man etc, etc, Its on clothing, furniture, white goods and others. The only difference here is that's its not shown on the ticket price.

I don't know of any other country that ads tax to things like that. Puerto Rico (a commonwealth of the US) - the tax is included in the things you buy. Regions are seprated at different tax rates, but the tax is simply added to goods if you buy in a certain area. Makes is so darn easy. All states could just add the tax to the things they sell, it would be simple. /

The U.S. uses sales taxes (which vary by locality) rather than Value Added Tax as is common in Europe.

Move to Britain, it's easy, they tax everything there!