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5% consumption tax NOT ADDED, service charge - Illegal???

 
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canuck



Joined: 11 May 2003
Posts: 1921
Location: Japan

PostPosted: Sun May 02, 2004 11:44 am    Post subject: 5% consumption tax NOT ADDED, service charge - Illegal??? Reply with quote

I had a nice meal at an "American style" restaurant in Osaka. The portions were generous, the food was good and it was an all around nice dining experience, until.....

I noticed at the end of the meal, there was a small sticker on the front of the menu stating in Japanese and English, the the 5% consumption tax had not been added to the stated menu prices. When the bill came, I also found that there was an extra 10% service charge added to the bill.

I confronted the cashier about the service charge and asked what it was about. She said that since the restaurant was an American restaurant, they pay the service charge to the parent company. I also asked why the tax wasn't added to the prices, especially when the new law went into effect at the beginning of last month stating that all prices should include the tax. The manager came over, saying that they have not yet included the prices, but they did put the sticker on the front of the menu. I stated that it was unacceptable and that they should comply with the law. Since they hadn't done it yet, I asked when they would...next month, July, August etc. He didn't have an answer.

I also teach a class once a week for a major supermarket, and they were scrambling trying to change the cash registers and fix all the prices for the beginning of last month, with many people working overtime. Why can't various restaurants etc. around Osaka do the same?

1. Could someone post a link to a Japanese site stating the rules and compliance standards that companies must follow regarding the new consumption tax and how it should be included in the prices?

2. Do table charges and services charges actually fly, or are they illegal?

3. If I refused to pay the table charge and the consumption tax because it wasn't added, what would happen? Where would I stand legally? (I assume that the manager would just take the easy way out, but I would like to be prepared if there was a point where we both wouldn't give)

4. Does the sticker on the front of the menu, or just a little sign by the cash register bypass the new law stating that the prices should be included?
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azarashi sushi



Joined: 23 Jan 2003
Posts: 562
Location: Shinjuku

PostPosted: Sun May 02, 2004 11:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Oh man... You need a life!
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canuck



Joined: 11 May 2003
Posts: 1921
Location: Japan

PostPosted: Sun May 02, 2004 12:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I don't like paying an extra 15%. How is that needing a life? Anyways...
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Glenski



Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

PostPosted: Sun May 02, 2004 9:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You really don't have much of a complaint against the sales tax issue. They may not have added the tax to the price of the items, but they covered themselves with the sticker. It was up to you to read it.

I would be more concerned with paying an additional 10% just because the place was an American restaurant. Care to say which one? Wasn't there a sticker/announcement about this on the menu? I don't think McDonalds does this, and they are about as American as they come. Whether or not this is legal, I don't know, but I find it highly unusual. Of course, in larger American cities, you can often find a 10-15% tax slapped on your bill in some restaurants if your table has a huge bill or if there is a large number of people sitting at the table. Rare, but it happens.
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canuck



Joined: 11 May 2003
Posts: 1921
Location: Japan

PostPosted: Mon May 03, 2004 1:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It was not MacDonalds, but a burger/steak house called the Outback Grill.

The whole point of the new law is to avoid confusion and the concern was to stop places from double taxing. By just putting the sticker in there, they are not following the law, which states all prices should include the tax. 90% of the businesses have changed, and I guess it bothers me that 10% think a sticker will put them in a legal position following the law. I don't think it doesn't. I'm surprised people don't care about it much. Oh well.
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vash3000



Joined: 13 Nov 2003
Posts: 56

PostPosted: Tue May 04, 2004 3:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Oh man... You need a life!

LOL!

Sorry, gotta give props to AS here.

That said, if you were in a bad mood, I can understand. The best response, in such cases, is to simply toss the cash register through the window.

Along with the little sign.

Best,
V.
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G Cthulhu



Joined: 07 Feb 2003
Posts: 1373
Location: Way, way off course.

PostPosted: Thu May 06, 2004 10:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

canuck wrote:


It was not MacDonalds, but a burger/steak house called the Outback Grill.



<ahem>

While Outback Grill is a US company, they are pretending to be Australian, not American.

Which is highly amusing to me; a US franchise in Japan trying to be Australian. The US version is laughable enough as far as their "Australianess" goes. The Japanese version is bound to be hysterical. I must go find one. :)
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shmooj



Joined: 11 Sep 2003
Posts: 1758
Location: Seoul, ROK

PostPosted: Thu May 06, 2004 12:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

G Cthulhu wrote:
canuck wrote:


It was not MacDonalds, but a burger/steak house called the Outback Grill.



<ahem>

While Outback Grill is a US company, they are pretending to be Australian, not American.

Which is highly amusing to me; a US franchise in Japan trying to be Australian. The US version is laughable enough as far as their "Australianess" goes. The Japanese version is bound to be hysterical. I must go find one. Smile


Come catch a bus with me. There's one just five minutes from my house here... never been though. Once a student came up with the name of the place as a superlative example of "the most expensive place you've ever eaten". Goes to show how cheap Korea is - or how cheap he is - not sure which Laughing
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Gordon



Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 5309
Location: Japan

PostPosted: Thu May 06, 2004 1:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Shmooj,
I used to think TGIF was the most expensive place when I first got to Seoul. The burgers back then were about $20 US, not sure what they are now.
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