I Hate Dialysis Message Board
Off-Topic => Off-Topic: Talk about anything you want. => Topic started by: murf on July 18, 2010, 03:07:53 PM
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I recently saw a show on TV called "$40 a day". The host was challenged to spend less than $40 for three meals at a tourist destination in USA. I noticed that she always added tip and tax to her bill. I am hoping that one of my American friends would explain this to me. Firstly, is all goods subject to a tax? In Australia, we have a consumer tax that is added before the bill so there is no need to calculate it afterwards. Is it a pain in the right derrière to remember this add on. Also, she usually added $1 for her tax and tip. How much would you add to a budget meal, Is the tipping set as in Europe or is it up to the individual? We do not have any tipping culture in Australia.
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Tax: This varies from place to place. Each state, county, city can add to it for various reasons. I believe Oregon does not have a sales tax. In Connecticut if you buy less than $100 in clothing it is not taxed. Where I live in Orange County the sales tax averages about 8.75%. In Los Angeles County you can pay as high as 9.75%.
Tip: This is for service such as waiters, hair dressers, groomers... You are not required to pay this usually. Some establishments automatically add a certain amount of tip to your bill under certain circumstance such as a large party at a restaurant. If you have good to very good service the usual tip is 15%-20%.
I hope this helps.
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Here in Taxachusetts there is sales tax & meals tax. It can change city to city also. Basically if you eat it, read it or wear it it is not taxed, Unless it is prepared for you (resturant) then it is called meals tax
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In nj our sales tax is 7%, we usaully give 15% for the tip.
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ah tipping such an almost artform in the USA and something aussies (and brits too) don't understand very well. The usual practice as I understand it anyway, is that for fast food places you don't tip, but anything sit down, where a waiter is looking after you, you add 10-20% tip depending on how good the service is. If you really HATE the service, then the ultimate flip off is to tip a penny. (though I have never actually been rude enough to do this, though I was sorely tempted this one time I was in Long Beach and this snooty matre D gives the bill to me for a meal I was having with a local friend and even before I could get my wallet out he says "Sir is aware that in the United States we practice the custom of tipping" - like I was an ignorant idiot and had no idea what to do - THE NERVE!!! my companion was aghast and embarassed). I understand the wages for wait staff and other similar jobs like porters etc is very low and they live on tips (as opposed to, say, Australia where you only tip for excellent service).
The whole thing does get kind of messy when you have say a $50 meal, thenyou add state taxes and the like, then a tip. What seems good value on the menu suddenly can be inflated quite a bit. Still, that's the custom and the way it is. I'm usually happy to put down the extra $$$
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10% is pretty low for a restaurant tip, unless it is buffet or counter service (cafe with a tip jar). 15-20% is standard, with 15 now becoming low. I don't get the "add a dollar" from the show, is this Rachel Ray by any chance? Cannot stand her for some reason, so I would not be inclined to watch. Perhaps her math is just crap and she adds an extra dollar just to be sure she can cover it all with her allotted dosh? She would not have been adding tax on the bill, she is just calculating it, which as others have explained, is nigh on impossible if you are not on familiar ground. I have lived in states where necessities are not taxed (food and clothing) but restaurants (rightly) do not qualify as necessities. Tax in Wisconsin is low at around 5%, though we have some of the highest property taxes in the nation (higher than Mass, I reckon....) and because I live in an urban area, we pay around an extra .5% premium.
Oh, and in terms of etiquette, never leave change unless you are at a really cas establishment - diner, coffee house, similar. And technically, you are only obligated to tip on the actual price of the food, not the food+tax which is the total you will see at the bottom of the check. If you are having a real night on the town and you are in NYC, this might be worth remembering. If you have vouchers to reduce the price of the tab, or for some reason (birthday, apology) you are getting something on the house, you should tip on what the price would have been. For example, on Father's Day, we took my husband to one of my fave restaurants, but the service was really slow and they were out of many options by the time we had been seated. Gwyn eventually boiled over and the manager came over and offered us dessert and a round of drinks on the house. We took him up on the offer, and tipped our waitress a percentage of what we would have been charged if the desserts and drinks had been on the bill.
This is just restaurant tipping. Pretty much everyone in the service industry needs to be tipped, though if you are staying at a hotel, wait and tip at the end of your stay. Is there no tipping for hotel people in Oz? Taxis? Our final taxi driver in any foreign country usually hits the jackpot, since we are looking to rid ourselves of all our coins. This is especially true in Britain, where we might accumulate 30 quid in pound and two pound coins. I prefer to give it to a working person than the charity that collects on the flights.
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When I'm in a cab and say the fare comes to $17 or $18 I won't think twice about giving the $20 and "keep the change, mate!" - it's easier and not going to worry me but I don't sit there and calculate what a tip should be. What I find difficult is, in the US for example, if I get a cab to the airport and the fare's $19 - do I give $20 and stiff him, or do I find the extra few bucks to make it a "proper" tip? What if I've only got an extra $5 or $10? Do I give him $30 and expect him to give me $8 back? I'm not going to give a $11 tip on a $19 fare! I do try and keep spare dollar bills handy for that purpose, but because it's not really in our culture, it is a bit of a shift in thinking I need to do when I get to the US - but "when in rome!"
I certainly always do try and respect the culture, so I don't have an issue tipping when I'm in a place that it is customary. Of course I do then avoid bellhops and porters in hotels(hey, I brought my bag from Australia, I can take it up to my room thanks!) - maybe that's seen as cheap, but I don't just do it to avoid the tip, but I've always been an independent kind of traveller. I prefer public transit options over cabs when I can also. That's just me though.
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and don't forget to tip a dollar a suitcase for the bell hop. Well, that is what we used to tip n15 years ago. I have not traveled much in the last 20 years. (except camping, no bell hops there :rofl;)
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That $40.00 a day was Rachel Ray and I often wondered why the tax and the tip were not added. That has since been changed, and now I dont know what they call it, since the tax and the tip(s) would take up a good amount now.