Infuriating

At the beginning of this month businesses were no longer allowed to charge customers bank debit or credit card fees for a purchase or service. Good, very good. 

But oh how small businesses are bleating so loudly in protest. To use the Federal Government's conservative Opposition Party's phrase, 'the government is sending small businesses broke'.

Really? The seven cents that was added to my cup of coffee is the difference between the success or failure of a business? I have several thoughts, and so I will state them.

The price on the menu or product or service is what you pay. We don't want to go down the American road of all sorts of things being added when you pay. The price you see is what you pay.

It is cheaper for businesses to use electronic payments than cash, so why would they want to indulge in the complications of using cash when an immediate electronic payment goes into the business bank account? 

The reason is tax. They can't hide electronically transferred income like they can with cash. Your meal out costs $35, multiplied by by say 20 diners for that sitting equals $700. If all pay with cash, the business owner whips $100 out of the till and sticks it in their pocket and it won't be taxed. They are still making a profit but only $600 will be taxed, somewhat lower after business expenses are also deducted.

If business owners can't manage to work out what bank fees cost them over however long their budget predictions and need to add a separate charge, where will it end? Council rates, water usage, electricity added to your bill? Why shouldn't they all be surcharges on what you pay? 

This also goes for weekend and public holiday surcharges. Businesses need to work out their costs in advance to set your prices to cover everything. It ain't so hard. It has been done for hundreds of years, without surcharges. Number of public holidays, multiplied by the the cost of the number of staff needed including wage penalty rates, then add to the pricing structure. Not hard.

Let the wannabe tax cheats bleat away. Consumers are very happy to have these surcharges removed, not because of the cost, but the opaqueness about what you pay.