we'll spend more than we think - USM Forum -- Message Board

Date: Oct 31, 2004

we'll spend more than we think

Date: Oct 31, 2004

Regardless of how many people come to ballgames & buy food or motel rooms, the lion's share of the proceeds of the tax, should it pass, will come from the 1% levy on McDonald's, Burger King, Taco Bell & Wendy's (among others). For every $50+ meal that Robert St. John serves up, there are 200 $5 meals being sold at the drive-throughs around town.

The beauty of it is that a 1% tax on a Quarter Pounder with fries combo meal is not likely to be noticed by the consumer. But it will pile up. Reliably & year-round.

Date: Oct 31, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: Big Mac Attack
"Regardless of how many people come to ballgames & buy food or motel rooms, the lion's share of the proceeds of the tax, should it pass, will come from the 1% levy on McDonald's, Burger King, Taco Bell & Wendy's (among others). For every $50+ meal that Robert St. John serves up, there are 200 $5 meals being sold at the drive-throughs around town. The beauty of it is that a 1% tax on a Quarter Pounder with fries combo meal is not likely to be noticed by the consumer. But it will pile up. Reliably & year-round. "

Much of what you say makes sense, Big Mac Attack. until one gets to your next to last sentence ("The beauty of it is that a 1% tax on a Quarter Pounder with fries combo meal is not likely to be noticed by the consumer.") To a great extent, the consumers who regularly patronize the fast food establishments do so because they simply can't afford to patronize the upscale Chef d'Megabucks restaurants. In that sense, imposing the lion's share of taxes on patrons at the low-end eating establishments is regressive. It penalizes those who can least afford to be penalized financially. Do I recall that one of the posters on this board suggested recently that perhaps they should not eat out at all if they can't afford an additional 60 cents for a meal?

Date: Oct 31, 2004

What I meant is that 3 or 4 cents on the price of a McD's combo meal is less likely to be noticed by the consumer than 50 cents tacked onto the price at a fancy restaurant. I didn't say that 3 or 4 cents (piled up day-in & day-out) wouldn't affect the consumer. It's just that it's a smaller amount & not as likely to be noticed.

The typical drive-by restaurant consumer yells into a staticky speaker-mike, pitches a 10-spot at the girl wearing the headphones, grabs the change (seldom counting it) with the pennies going straight into the dashboard coin holder & heads to the pick-up window for the fat grams & sodium. In the pricier place, the consumer looks at the tab, calculates the gratuity, signs a credit card ticket, etc. & in general pays more attention to what s/he is paying.

Date: Oct 31, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: Big Mac Attack
"What I meant is that 3 or 4 cents on the price of a McD's combo meal is less likely to be noticed by the consumer than 50 cents tacked onto the price at a fancy restaurant."

Actually, Mac, quite the opposite is true. Research has shown that differences at the low end are perceived much more readily than those at the high end. The name of this phenomenon escapes me at the moment, but the general principle is firmly established.

Date: Oct 31, 2004

One set of the victims of the tax has never been mentioned, i. e., students. Not only will students pay the tax on Big Macs and other fast food in restaurants in Hattiesburg, they pay the tax if they pay cash for prepared food on campus. Since the privatization of the food suppliers this year, sales tax is collected on all sales that are not paid with a University card. How the tax is avoided when the student's money is run through the university is another interesting issue. It is not the University, which is exempt from sales taxes, buying the meal; it is a private party buying the meal. Since this privatization is a trend in Mississippi (I have been told that Mississippi State has a situation similar to USM) I wonder if there is an explicit provision in the sales tax law that covers this issue?

Date: Oct 31, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: Psy 101
"
Actually, Mac, quite the opposite is true. Research has shown that differences at the low end are perceived much more readily than those at the high end. The name of this phenomenon escapes me at the moment, but the general principle is firmly established. "

Research-besmirch! The majority of folks who whip into a drive-by fast food joint doing even count their change! And the ones who do seldom look at the receipt to see exactly what the taxes were.

Based on my experience, far more people make a detailed inventory of what's in the bag at the pick-up window -- some appear to go as far as counting the number of fries. This of course causes the line to snake around the place, puts everyone in a hurry & increases the likelihood that the change won't be counted.

Date: Oct 31, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: Cossack
"One set of the victims of the tax has never been mentioned, i. e., students. Not only will students pay the tax on Big Macs and other fast food in restaurants in Hattiesburg, they pay the tax if they pay cash for prepared food on campus. Since the privatization of the food suppliers this year, sales tax is collected on all sales that are not paid with a University card. How the tax is avoided when the student's money is run through the university is another interesting issue. It is not the University, which is exempt from sales taxes, buying the meal; it is a private party buying the meal. Since this privatization is a trend in Mississippi (I have been told that Mississippi State has a situation similar to USM) I wonder if there is an explicit provision in the sales tax law that covers this issue?"

How insightful, Cosack. Another implication of the bondage tax is that it will increase as the price of food increases along with the cost of living: the higher the price of a hamburger, the higher the bondage tax will be.