30+ Behaviors That Are Only Acceptable in the U.S. According to Non-Americans

Many countries charge taxes on things that are sold, the money going to fund government needs and projects. In some cases, how much tax is owed is included in the price, so what you see on the price tag is exactly what you will give to the cashier. The USA is not one of these places.

But it’s not done out of a desire to annoy people. Many countries have a flat rate tax—taxes are always 10%, for example—which is easy enough to calculate. But the USA is way more complicated, with entities at the federal, state, county, and local level potentially being able to tax different things at different rates. So it’s not as easy as it seems to just say, “label everything with price plus taxes!”