[Reposted. Please don't cut the newsgroups (without saying so).]

pltrgyst wrote:
On Sat, 13 Dec 2008 21:10:37 +0100, Frank Slootweg
wrote:

John Kulp wrote:

Excuse me? Our sales taxes range from zero to around 8%....

I just took the stack of receipts we have. The *very first*, a toy
car, is already 8.5%, i.e. already *above* the maximum you mention.

The US generally has state sales taxes. The California state sales tax is 7.25%.

On top of this, you may have smaller district, county, or city sales taxes
(generally less than 1%). The total of all sales taxes may indeed range as high
as 8.5%.

The *second* one, a meal, is already 12.3%!

Many cities have special restaurant taxes in addition to the general sales tax.

The *third*, a motel bill, is 12%.

Most cities have special occupancy taxes for hotels in addition to the general
sales tax.

Thanks! So the *total* *tax* is indeed often much higher than what
John said. That was my point. I already knew that *sales* tax wasn't the
only tax, that why I *started* by saying "your *product* (i.e. sales,
VAT, whatever) taxes", i.e. *any* tax which is added to the listed/
advertized price.