# Can a government compel a business to raise its prices? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 24, 2012, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-government-compel-a-business-to-raise-its-prices/632503 "2012-08-24T16:58:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-government-compel-a-business-to-raise-its-prices/632503/21 "2012-08-24T20:17:23Z")
> [@Dog80](#): > > This. Just one word? That’s your only comment? But you’re not the only one. I’ve seen several people on SD do it, and I have no idea what it means. It could mean anything from “This is ridiculous” to “This is exactly correct”, or anywhere in between. Could someone do me a favor and clue me in? advTHANKSance ---
**Author:** ![just\_some\_guy5](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@just\_some\_guy5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/just_some_guy5)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-government-compel-a-business-to-raise-its-prices/632503/22 "2012-08-24T20:18:35Z")
> [@Keeve](#): > > Just one word? That’s your only comment? > > But you’re not the only one. I’ve seen several people on SD do it, and I have no idea what it means. It could mean anything from “This is ridiculous” to “This is exactly correct”, or anywhere in between. Could someone do me a favor and clue me in? > > advTHANKSance exactly correct would be my guess. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-government-compel-a-business-to-raise-its-prices/632503/23 "2012-08-24T20:25:45Z")
> [@Keeve](#): > > Just one word? That’s your only comment? > > But you’re not the only one. I’ve seen several people on SD do it, and I have no idea what it means. It could mean anything from “This is ridiculous” to “This is exactly correct”, or anywhere in between. Could someone do me a favor and clue me in? > > advTHANKSance It’s the same as “+1” or “Like” or “I agree.” (ETA: Is there really ambiguity there?) ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-government-compel-a-business-to-raise-its-prices/632503/24 "2012-08-24T20:27:03Z")
> [@Keeve](#): > > Just one word? That’s your only comment? > > But you’re not the only one. I’ve seen several people on SD do it, and I have no idea what it means. It could mean anything from “This is ridiculous” to “This is exactly correct”, or anywhere in between. Could someone do me a favor and clue me in? > > advTHANKSance It’s a pretty common way of agreeing. +1, word and QFT also fit the bill. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-government-compel-a-business-to-raise-its-prices/632503/25 "2012-08-24T20:50:18Z")
> [@just\_some\_guy5](#): > > > [@John\_Mace](#): > > > > We weren’t collecting taxes before and the city caught us. They made us raise prices! > > Not collecting sales tax seems like a pretty obvious miss that a business couldn’t get away with for any meaningful stretch of time. I do wonder, though, if the city jacked up property taxes or something like that. The sales tax rules can be complex. Sometimes dine-in meals aren’t charged sales tax while take-out food is. Or freshly prepared food might be free of tax while packaged items like a can of soda or a bag of chips are not. It’s entirely possible that a restaurant owner might be confused. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-government-compel-a-business-to-raise-its-prices/632503/26 "2012-08-24T20:55:48Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > The sales tax rules can be complex. Sometimes dine-in meals aren’t charged sales tax while take-out food is. Or freshly prepared food might be free of tax while packaged items like a can of soda or a bag of chips are not. It’s entirely possible that a restaurant owner might be confused. I believe that the law here is that food is never subject to sales tax (6.25%), but it is subject to meal tax (5%). Groceries are not taxable. When I worked at a deli many years ago, if someone got a soda with their sandwich, we’d have to charge them tax on the soda because it was part of a meal. But if someone just bought a soda and nothing else, it was groceries so we wouldn’t charge tax. I have no idea if that’s what we were supposed to be doing. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-government-compel-a-business-to-raise-its-prices/632503/27 "2012-08-24T22:05:44Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > It’s a pretty common way of agreeing. +1, word and QFT also fit the bill. I guess I’m too old for these phrases. Fortunately, Google was able to translate “QFT” for me. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-government-compel-a-business-to-raise-its-prices/632503/28 "2012-08-24T22:31:10Z")
> [@Keeve](#): > > I guess I’m too old for these phrases. Fortunately, Google was able to translate “QFT” for me. Thanks! Sorry! I should have defined it. And I’m betting you’re not much older than I am, if at all! ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-government-compel-a-business-to-raise-its-prices/632503/29 "2012-08-24T22:35:37Z")
Scotland recently passed a law effectively saying alcohol cannot be sold below 5 pence / ml. That will certainly raise the price of some drinks. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-government-compel-a-business-to-raise-its-prices/632503/30 "2012-08-24T23:45:30Z")
> [@Bozuit](#): > > Scotland recently passed a law effectively saying alcohol cannot be sold below 5 pence / ml. That will certainly raise the price of some drinks. The Russian government passed a law (earlier this year, I think) setting a minimum price for vodka. This minimum price was absurdly low (something on the order of €2/half liter). No surprise that the alcohol consumption in Russia is so high. [hijack] It also made me wonder why we weren’t inundated by cheap Russian vodka. Since I noticed once that despite the names or use of cyrillic character most of the vodka sold in France was in fact made in France, I began to check this up, and I’m yet to find a _single_ bottle of Russian vodka. French, Polish, Swedish, Italian, whatever…but never Russian 😕 [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Jake\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Jake\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake_Jones)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-government-compel-a-business-to-raise-its-prices/632503/31 "2012-08-25T00:02:19Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > Ontario, Canada has minimum beer prices. Dammit. It’s been about 8 years or so since I’ve been in Ontario. At the time, the only place to buy beer was The Beer Store and LCBO and I thought both of those were government owned entities. Have things changed or was I mistaked about the ownership of these stores? ---
**Author:** ![bashere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@bashere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bashere)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-government-compel-a-business-to-raise-its-prices/632503/32 "2012-08-25T00:21:48Z")
> [@Jake\_Jones](#): > > It’s been about 8 years or so since I’ve been in Ontario. At the time, the only place to buy beer was The Beer Store and LCBO and I thought both of those were government owned entities. Have things changed or was I mistaked about the ownership of these stores? The [Beer store](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beer_Store) is not owned by the province. (Oddly I thought it was partially owned by the government) ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-government-compel-a-business-to-raise-its-prices/632503/33 "2012-08-25T03:29:06Z")
Several states have minimum price laws for gasoline. ---
**Author:** ![fumster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9c0ed/32.png) [@fumster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fumster)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-government-compel-a-business-to-raise-its-prices/632503/34 "2012-08-25T04:53:57Z")
> [@just\_some\_guy5](#): > > exactly correct would be my guess. This ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-government-compel-a-business-to-raise-its-prices/632503/35 "2012-08-25T06:56:18Z")
Several years ago in Center City Philly, people were parking and letting the meters expire: paying for the parking ticket was cheaper than going into a garage! Garages were losing money hand over fist, so they got City Council to raise the parking fines until they were “competitive”. ---
**Author:** ![42fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/b487fb/32.png) [@42fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/42fish)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-government-compel-a-business-to-raise-its-prices/632503/36 "2012-08-25T12:29:30Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > FWIW, they don’t charge meal tax. I assume that it’s built into their prices. Is it possible then that the meal tax was recently increased and the employee is (incorrectly I assume\*) blaming the entire price increase on it? \*Since I doubt the meal tax would’ve increased 15% ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-government-compel-a-business-to-raise-its-prices/632503/37 "2012-08-25T13:53:06Z")
My bet is almost always on the employees making up shit because they simply don’t want to say they figured out they could make more money or that they needed to increase prices for whatever reason. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-government-compel-a-business-to-raise-its-prices/632503/38 "2012-08-27T13:14:09Z")
> [@42fish](#): > > Is it possible then that the meal tax was recently increased and the employee is (incorrectly I assume\*) blaming the entire price increase on it? Actually, it did go up to 6.25%. It took the shop 3 years to raise their prices though, and yeah, far more than 1.25%. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-government-compel-a-business-to-raise-its-prices/632503/39 "2012-08-27T13:36:42Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > My bet is almost always on the employees making up shit because they simply don’t want to say they figured out they could make more money or that they needed to increase prices for whatever reason. My bet is almost always on the employees making up shit. I manage about 15 employees. I can’t tell you how often they seem to put words in my mouth. For example a few weeks ago I heard one of my employees tell another one “Joey doesn’t like it when the cashiers use calculators…” I cut him off to correct him and tell him that what I _actually_ said was “I was walking past the register and saw [cashier] use a calculator so I knew there was a problem…I never said I have a problem with the cashiers using a calculator. I’d rather they used one then got tried to guess at the change or had a customer confuse them.” That’s just one quick example. I have employees seemingly just make random shit up all the time. At least there I knew where he got it from, but sometimes it seems like they just make crap up for fun. If you [the OP] want to know the real, or at least the best answer you’re going to get, call the owner. He might give you the real answer, he might give you a BS answer, but whatever he tells you, it’s probably better then what the employees tell you. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-government-compel-a-business-to-raise-its-prices/632503/40 "2012-08-27T14:20:59Z")
> [@Jake\_Jones](#): > > It’s been about 8 years or so since I’ve been in Ontario. At the time, the only place to buy beer was The Beer Store and LCBO and I thought both of those were government owned entities. Have things changed or was I mistaked about the ownership of these stores? As noted, The Beer Store isn’t government owned, although it does have a government monopoly. Along with the two stores you mentioned, breweries can also sell their own beer, and they’re also constrained by the minimum price ($29.35 per 24 bottle case, I think). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-government-compel-a-business-to-raise-its-prices/632503.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-government-compel-a-business-to-raise-its-prices/632503.md?page=3)