Cashier Calls Out Customers Who Try to Get Out of Paying Sales Tax — "Have They Never Shopped Before?"

Look, everyone knows that taxes suck. The idea behind them, in the hands of government leaders who appropriate them to worthwhile causes and manage the money in ways that are beneficial to the interests of the people they are supposed to serve, is great.

However, massive corporations steal our tax dollars all of the time under the guise of Federal Law.

Take the airline industry's "obsession" with stock buyback programs. In fact, Americans spent more money on these programs ($12.9 billion) than the salaries of their employees ($12.6 billion). And then, once those stocks plummeted in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic because nobody was flying, guess who bailed them out?

Yes, the same people who have to pay an extra $75-$170 a ticket in order to have a normal amount of legroom on a flight or a checked bag. The same people who are constantly having their flights delayed and/or canceled and then scrambling to get their money refunded (or being told that they can only receive credits) bailed out these companies because they were terrible at managing their businesses.

And while there are plenty of materials available online about the grimy ways that politicians supposedly manipulate/launder our money through non-profits, or private corporations getting involved in government initiatives like wars and aid deals, there are some taxes that you probably shouldn't make a big deal about paying.

Like the few cents you're asked to for over for a bag of chips.

Anyone who wants to run a business in the United States is expected to pay their fair share of taxes unless they make enough money to sponsor politicians and government leaders who in turn pass laws that help them earn more money and pay less in taxes.

But someone running let's say, a convenience store, needs to collect taxes on the goods that they're selling, and some of that tax burden falls on the customer.

A now-viral TikTok from user @0liviamillerr delineates an experience with a patron who argued that there was no need for her to pay the taxes on the chips. The woman refused to fork over an additional 52 cents. The OG price of the chips? $3.99. The price with tax? $4.51.

The TikToker re-enacted her experience with the irate shopper, "playing" both her role and theirs in the clip. "I'm sorry, but who are you to tell me how much money I'm spending or not spending. Like, if it says $3.99, that's what I'm paying. I'm not going to give you extra money for you and the owner."

"Do you want it or not? I'm not going to fight you over taxes." The patron doesn't budge however and persists in only wanting to spend $3.99 on the chips because she finds the tax "outrageous" and then says that by her paying it, she's setting a bad example for her daughter.

"How am I supposed to teach my daughter to grow up in a society where people like yourself take extra money from people like myself?"

The worker, exasperated finally says, "I have no control over whether or not you're paying your taxes."

Still, the customer persists, trying to guilt the worker into not charging her tax: "How am I supposed to tell my daughter that you're not allowing her to get the chips that she wants?"

The employee says it's impossible for her to adjust the price without taxes, the woman finally capitulates and then leaves the store, her convictions about not paying sales tax on salty snacks held intact.

Folks couldn't believe that the interaction actually happened and they wondered if the woman had ever purchased anything in her lifetime.

Others said that the woman probably didn't have the other 52 cents to pay for the chips and only the $4 cash to do so and used taxes as a "smokescreen" or sorts to feign outrage. If that was the case, she could've just purchased another bag of chips.

Others said that due to rising inflation costs in America as a result of fiscal misjudgments carried out by the Biden administration, tons of customers are complaining about increased pricing of products across the board.