CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF TAX AND FEE

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mtnelect

mtnelect

HVAC & Electrical Contractor
Location
Southern California
Occupation
Contractor, C10 & C20 - Semi Retired
Does your state also tax a surcharge fees ? We accept credit cards and charge a 2% surcharge and is considering adding a transportation fee of 3%.

When I go to a restaurant, I now see all these fees.
 

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Around here more and more restaurants are adding fees to the check. They claim it is to recover the 3%-5% that the credit card company charges but they have also been charging people who pay with cash the same fee often "forgetting" to remove it when they pay in cash. Here in NJ they just passed a law ensuring that merchants cannot make a profit with the fees so they can only charge what it costs them. Personally I don't have a problem with it if it is clearly outlined on the menu or somewhere else.
 
I was personally hit with this fee for the first time locally. Even though I paid cash. No notice on the menu. It will be a long time till I go back, there are lots of other restaurants that don't have the fee.

In my opinion, it should just be included in the meal price, as is other overhead like electricity, fryer oil, heat, building maintence, labor, etc. Will they start having a list of a dozen overhead items to bill separately?
 
Barbqranch said:
In my opinion, it should just be included in the meal price, as is other overhead like electricity, fryer oil, heat, building maintence, labor, etc. Will they start having a list of a dozen overhead items to bill separately?
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I feel the same way too it's just a cost of doing business but once every restaurant does it you'll have no choice but to pay it or carry cash. Right now it just seems like another cash grab especially since (at least around here) a majority of patrons pay with a credit card.
 
I really don’t care how a business structures their pricing as long as they’re transparent about it. That way, I can compare prices and make my purchase decision based on the bottom line.

Some states and some card processors require specific notification if the business is going to charge a fee for using a card. The Illinois contract between Visa and the merchant states that if you are charging a card fee, a sign stating that must be placed at all entrances to the business and at each point of sale terminal.

My wife the accountant caught a business that didn’t comply when she went to pay a $4K bill. After discussing with the manager, they removed the 2% fee.
 
Barbqranch said:
I was personally hit with this fee for the first time locally. Even though I paid cash. No notice on the menu. It will be a long time till I go back, there are lots of other restaurants that don't have the fee.

In my opinion, it should just be included in the meal price, as is other overhead like electricity, fryer oil, heat, building maintence, labor, etc. Will they start having a list of a dozen overhead items to bill separately?
Click to expand...
I agree. If they want they can offer a discount for cash then.
 
When filing electrical permits on line they started adding fees for credit cards maybe about a year or so ago, which I believe was a straight percentage fee. But they also offer direct debit payment and that is a fixed rate per transaction and normally will be less than the credit card fee will be.
 
My poco, PG&E, lets you pay by credit card, but charges a 1.75% fee. My credit card has a 2 percent cash back.
It is a small bonus, but I enjoy it.
 
Joethemechanic said:
They tried that in the 70's and people freaked out

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Pay toilets are not new. I vaguely recall seeing a few of them in the early 1960's, when I was a child. Bus stations maybe? And maybe in a major shopping center with common area toilets? I was too young to recall the specifics but I do remember seeing them somewhere in NC, probably Raleigh.
 
jmellc said:
Pay toilets are not new. I vaguely recall seeing a few of them in the early 1960's, when I was a child. Bus stations maybe? And maybe in a major shopping center with common area toilets? I was too young to recall the specifics but I do remember seeing them somewhere in NC, probably Raleigh.
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I remember reading that Howard Hughes, who owned nearly 80% of all Trans World Airlies (TWA) shares, was in a TWA terminal and went to the bathroom. There were pay toilets, but Hughes never carried any change with him and so he crawled under the door of a stall. An attendant caught him and brought him to his manager. He told them that he was Howard Hughes but they didn't believe him. Hughes then brought up the names of TWA executives that he worked with, but the local manager didn't recognize any of them. Hughes then tried to recall some lower level managers, and while mentioning them one by one the local manager was startled when he heard the names of some bosses that he knew about.
The next day all pay toilet locks in TWA locations worldwide were being removed.
 
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