[reef_sh]

To be clear. This information is not hidden. Every receipt you receive will have the VAT % of each individual item written down, and VAT % of certain kinds of items are often discussed as part of regular politics and very present on public consciousness.

[hopelite]

You are missing the point even though I rather clearly indicated it. This is not a question of whether you or I see the taxes as we likely both care to similar degrees, it’s about whether it is front and center for regular people to see at the point of gratification contact line, i.e., looking at the product on the shelf.

The taxes in the US are also very clearly indicated on receipts, but that does not change that when you are looking at a price in Europe, you are appeased looking at it with a bias of assumed, baked in taxes. It’s a psychological difference related to loss aversion. Is precisely why the European rulers pushed to hide the taxes in the price so you don’t even think about it, opposed to additional monies being taken from you at the point of sale.

It’s the very same reason why they pushed for employer to take all the massive taxes and costs and “contributions” out of one’s paycheck because handing over a check of some five digit amount every year to the government would be far more of a galling issue to most people than having it taken out of toe paycheck once a month and you normalized it and take it for granted. Talk to anyone that runs a personal business admit how they feel writing 6 or 7 digit checks to the government every quarter or so, before you grow past having someone that just does it as a matter of their role and they have no vested interest in whether any amount is paid.

It astonishes me that people like you seem to be oblivious of the effects of these kinds of tricks and games, when this community is regularly discussing social engineering, dark patterns, marketing gobbledygook, etc. You think the government made up of liars that lie about everything, including lying; the people who cover up child rape of the Epstein kind and the rape gangs of the Brush Labour Party that numbers somewhere near ~250,000 victims of child gang rape … they wouldn’t have evaluated which way is better to hoodwink the multitude and minimize anger offer being pilfered?

[dns_snek]

> It astonishes me that people like you seem to be oblivious of the effects of these kinds of tricks and games, when this community is regularly discussing social engineering, dark patterns, marketing gobbledygook, etc.

Don't you see the hypocrisy of talking about "dark patterns" while trying to use every psychological trick in the book to trigger people's emotional responses that are opposed to their rational beliefs?

Sure, most of us will complain about taxes being higher than we like sometimes, but most of us also understand that those taxes pay for services that the vast majority of us want and rely on - we want healthcare, safety nets, infrastructure, quality education, etc. We can argue about a few % here or there but we also understand that we couldn't have those things if all of our taxes were substantially lower.

We already have transparency as all taxes and contributions are plainly documented on every receipt, pay slip, and tax invoice. Laypeople argue about taxes all the time, they complain about VAT and income taxes being too high, they aren't under the illusion you think they are.

Your entire strategy seems to be making bureaucracy and every day activities as irritating, anxiety-inducing, bias-inducing, and stressful as possible when it comes to taxes in order to get people to turn on taxes entirely. That's not transparency but subversion of people's self-interests through dark patterns you claim to oppose.

> Talk to anyone that runs a personal business admit how they feel writing 6 or 7 digit checks to the government every quarter or so

It feels gut-wrenching in the moment, but I don't believe that public policy should be influenced by our fleeting emotional reactions and I'm surprised to hear this quiet part said out loud.