Is tax included in the price of beer at a bar, or what?
Should be, VAT 5%, and that’s on the price of the beer + import duty, if imported
Why is it that they have to calculate that extra surcharge on beers whenever I pay my tab in a bar in Kaohsiung or Taipei? I hate having to deal with loose change and “pennies” (what I call 1 NT coins). Down in Tainan, beers are priced exactly as they are advertised, which is usually 100 to 150 NT. None of this advertise the price as 120 NT on the menu and then calculate the “tax” up to 137 NT. They don’t pull this scam in stores, prices are exactly what they say on the pricetag, and they don’t do it at lots of chain restaurants, a Big Mac costs me exactly what it says on the menu. Now I haven’t drank beer in any of the local Taiwanese style pubs in Taipei or Kaohsiung, but only the bars that cater to foreigners, and I wonder if those little local bars sneak in an extra “tax” charge to the bill. I doubt it. I mean it’s basically nothing but a few extra pennies, it’s not the extra cost that bothers me but that I hate having to deal with spare change. I like to pay my bills in nice, easily figured sums of 50 and 100 NT notes. Making your customers do all that extra math when they’re drunk is bad for business.
Tell them you don’t want a cashiers ticket … than they don’t need to add tax …
I nealy had an embarrassing moment at Pig & Whistle last night because I ordered fish abd chips at $300 and a beer at $150, and because I only go to pubs once in a blue moon, I wasn’t aware of the tax. It came to $495. I left the place with $5 in my pocket. 
Are you sure it’s not a service charge? Sounds like they’re 10%ing you.
The receipt says:
-
FOOD 450 T
%+10% 45 T
SUBTL 495
well that’ll be 10%ing then!
What does it mean? Fair or unfair?
What does it mean? Fair or unfair?[/quote]
It means the place is adding a 10% service charge. Personally I don’t like this - especially in a certain Taipei Irish pub I could name where ten percent is added to the menu price of my pint just for handing it to me over the bar. :fume: That’s not service, that’s your job! If you want to charge NT$264 for a pint of Guinness, put it on the damn menu so I know upfront what I’m paying for.
What does it mean? Fair or unfair?[/quote]
It means the place is adding a 10% service charge. Personally I don’t like this - especially in a certain Taipei Irish pub I could name where ten percent is added to the menu price of my pint just for handing it to me over the bar. :fume: That’s not service, that’s your job! If you want to charge NT$264 for a pint of Guinness, put it on the damn menu so I know upfront what I’m paying for.[/quote]
:bravo: :bravo: :bravo:
Yeah! Tell them!!
The point is we have to pay 10% service charge irrespective of the quality of service we receive. :s
However, I personally don’t mind at ALL paying the 10% if:
- the service is good
- it’s clearly listed on the menu
I have refused more than once to pay the service fee because the service was bloody bad. I explained to the manager why and (s)he had no problem taking it off my bill.
For clarification: My reply does not refer to the Taipei Irish Pub mentioned by Taffy.
What does it mean? Fair or unfair?[/quote]
It’s fair. It’s more or less clearly stated on the menu and sort of a standard here. It’s not the Vietnam style “Oh, here’s a tourist, lets tell him that there is a 10% tax” thingie.
What does it mean? Fair or unfair?[/quote]
It’s fair. It’s more or less clearly stated on the menu and sort of a standard here. It’s not the Vietnam style “Oh, here’s a tourist, lets tell him that there is a 10% tax” thingie.[/quote]
Just because everyone has to pay it in those establishments, doesn’t mean it’s fair. Honestly, how can popping the cap off a bottle and then handing it to me justify a 10% charge? Tell me the price upfront. Or say “service not included” like a lot of places in the UK and let me add a tip if it’s justified. It’s disingenuous to quote one price on the menu and then have a small note at the bottom saying
a service charge of 10% will be added to all orders
. It’s essentially dishonestly representing your prices (if not legally, then morally). I begrudge it and it makes the difference between me choosing somewhere to eat and drink. Also, I don’t think it’s standard here, EddieG, and all the places I go regularly (be they Western or Taiwanese) employ an honest pricing policy and let me decide whether to tip or not, or whether the list price is worth it.
So, is it legal? Yes. Is it fair? I don’t think so.
You’re wrong, Eddie, like I said they don’t practice it in Tainan or Chiayi or all the other places in Taiwan, they only do it in some of the foreigner bars in Kaohsiung and Taipei. The last time I was down in Kaohsiung I drank in the bars on Wufu and they all added the service charge, but when I drank in some of the bars out in the suburbs (whatever they call those places a little outside the city center here) they didn’t sneak on a 10% service charge. Why do they only do it in popular foreigner hangouts?
We’ve been through this discussion before. The 10% so-called service charge is extra profit. Even owners admit it’s added margins for them without having to have their list prices on the menu 10% higher. I don’t blame particular owners for doing this because it’s standard practice here and not doing so may put them at a competitive disadvantage. Personally, I dislike the practice as it is deceptive, leading one to believe that the charge is a mandatory gratuity going to the service staff.
When I wrote here I meant Taipei since AAF went to Pig & Whistle. A foreigner bar in Taipei. Where they don’t sneak it in, it’s stated on the menu. And that’s practice in all those places, just like you write yourself. In Vietnam they decide to tax you because they feel like it. If you cause some fuss it’ll disappear in 5 seconds.
I’m in Hsinchu and the place was full of Taiwanese patrons, but I know what you mean.
I’m in Hsinchu (Xinzhu) and the place was full of Taiwanese patrons, but I know what you mean.[/quote]
Goddamn chain restaurants! 
In the UK, as I understand it, the 10-15% service charge is not enforceable by law- whether it is clearly stated or not.
In Taiwan, I don’t like having to pay 10% for walking to the bar, waiting, ordering my drink and then walking it back to my table.
I know this is Taiwan, but this is the situation in the UK:
This is a quote from a BBC web site:
It’s becoming the case whereby a restaurateur now adds a percentage of the cost of the meal to the bill - usually ten to 15 per cent. This should be clearly stated on the bill. Like tipping, this is discretionary and if you’re dissatisfied with the service you’ve received, you’re within your rights to refuse to pay the charge.
This from another:
[i]Many customers probably don’t realise that, according to British law, service charges added by the restaurant are entirely optional. If you weren’t happy with the service or would prefer to calculate your own tip, you can always ask for it to be removed and for a new bill to be printed.
There’s another good reason for removing this charge from the bill – it has been reported that many restaurants only pass on to the waiting staff the tips which were actually left as coinage in the tip tray. Those added on to the bill or paid for by credit card tend to go straight to management. Four waiters at a top London restaurant recently went to the High Court with this issue – claiming that because most customers added a tip onto their credit card, they’d missed out on almost £20,000 in tips. The court ruled in favour of management. [/i]
Can anyone add (to my very short list) names of bars that do or don’t add a 10% service charge to buying a beer:
Those that don’t: 
Carnegies (Taipei)
Those that do: :loco:
The Brass Monkey (Taipei)