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#81
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Report from the US, a nice but somewhat backward country.
John Kulp wrote:
On Sat, 13 Dec 2008 17:09:48 +0100, Frank Slootweg wrote: Which is exactly why we exclude it here, keeping our taxes much lower than yours by constantly pointing out how much of the total price it is. Well, your *product* (i.e. sales, VAT, whatever) taxes are not that much lower. You are probably thinking about income tax, social securrity, etc.. Excuse me? Our sales taxes range from zero to around 8%. In Sweden, they are something like 25%. According to a search I did, the general VAT in The Netherlands is 19%. Just how is that not much different from ours? I'm confused! When you're talking about "ours" are you talking about the US or Canada? *I* am obviously talking about the US and specifically about California (and a little about Nevada). I just took the stack of receipts we have. The *very first*, a toy car, is already 8.5%, i.e. already *above* the maximum you mention. The *second* one, a meal, is already 12.3%! The *third*, a motel bill, is 12%. Doesn't really stimulate me to look any further, does it? And I know for sure that in San Francisco we paid 14% on the motel bill. What I remember was mostly around 12%, hence my comment ("not that much lower"). So either there's some confusion somewhere, or that "constantly pointing out how much of the total price it [the tax] is", isn't really working, is it? |
#82
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Report from the US, a nice but somewhat backward country.
On Sat, 13 Dec 2008 18:50:32 +0100, Frank Slootweg
wrote: [Disclaimer: I can't believe I'm actually reading/writing this stuff! :-)] Mike O'Sullivan wrote: John Kulp wrote: The Dutch should talk. I have never seen so many different types of toilets as I have in The Netherlands. You think you're turning on the light and the toilet flushes. Their toilets are strange. When you take a crap, the turds sit on a sort of shelf, so you can contemplate it for a couple of minutes before flushing. (BTW, Flushing is in Holland too) Your description doesn't compute. With 'shelf' do you mean a moving, probably metal, plate in the 'output pipe' (don't know the right term for the latter? Or do you mean the bottom of a US-style toilet, but without the few gallons of water, i.e. the 'shelf' is not a seperate component, but just the bottom of the ceramic toilet? I found them to be common in parts of Germany and parts of the Nederlands near the German border. This guy describes it in detail: http://www.asecular.com/~scott/misc/toilet.htm I had the same aversion to that design as he did. I presume they were designed to allow some anally-obsessed people to check stools for health purposes on a daily basis. If the former, then those kind of toilets are *not* common in The Netherlands, i.e. there might be some in some places, but they would be an exception. As to strange, *we* find having them float around in a few gallons of water both strange and disgusting! The American system of the bernoulli suction effect was equally strange to us, with their high waterline and an unfortunate tendency to block easily. Again, someone else has described it better than I could: http://www.alldownunder.com/oz-k/rea...an-toilets.htm Cheers, Alan, Australia -- http://loraltravel.blogspot.com Latest: Two Indian Hotels: to Sleep, Perchance... |
#83
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Report from the US, a nice but somewhat backward country.
On Sat, 13 Dec 2008 19:03:37 +0100, Frank Slootweg
wrote: pltrgyst wrote: On Fri, 12 Dec 2008 05:48:49 GMT, "Sharx35" wrote: Europe where the common attitude is that "WE are the centre of the cultural universe and the rest of the world are wannabes or boors". :Hell will freeze over before I travel to the continent of decay, Europe. Well, I'm pretty sure that at least 99% of us here in the US would rather have Frank visit than you. I'm not quite sure if that was a compliment or not! Afterall, all is relative, isn't it? :-) I.e. something like "I would rather have a broken leg than a missing eye!". :-) But you've got a sense of humor, and he's a geographic bigot. So, yes, I'd rather have the broken leg. 8 And my mother is Welsh, and my father's parents were German and Danish. Plus my wife and I go to Europe on business several times a year (Netherlands, Austria, France). We also spend a month or so driving around Europe every winter, and love it. We may even retire to France, at least half-time, in a couple of years. Come to think of it, it's good to know that guppy35 isn't likely to ever visit Europe while we're there. Now if he'll just stay north of the border over here until he at least reaches puberty... -- Larry |
#84
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Report from the US, a nice but somewhat backward country.
On Sat, 13 Dec 2008 21:10:37 +0100, Frank Slootweg
wrote: John Kulp wrote: Excuse me? Our sales taxes range from zero to around 8%.... I just took the stack of receipts we have. The *very first*, a toy car, is already 8.5%, i.e. already *above* the maximum you mention. The US generally has state sales taxes. The California state sales tax is 7.25%. On top of this, you may have smaller district, county, or city sales taxes (generally less than 1%). The total of all sales taxes may indeed range as high as 8.5%. The *second* one, a meal, is already 12.3%! Many cities have special restaurant taxes in addition to the general sales tax. The *third*, a motel bill, is 12%. Most cities have special occupancy taxes for hotels in addition to the general sales tax. -- Larry |
#85
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Report from the US, a nice but somewhat backward country.
[Disclaimer: Same one.]
Alan S wrote: On Sat, 13 Dec 2008 18:50:32 +0100, Frank Slootweg wrote: [Disclaimer: I can't believe I'm actually reading/writing this stuff! :-)] Mike O'Sullivan wrote: John Kulp wrote: The Dutch should talk. I have never seen so many different types of toilets as I have in The Netherlands. You think you're turning on the light and the toilet flushes. Their toilets are strange. When you take a crap, the turds sit on a sort of shelf, so you can contemplate it for a couple of minutes before flushing. (BTW, Flushing is in Holland too) Your description doesn't compute. With 'shelf' do you mean a moving, probably metal, plate in the 'output pipe' (don't know the right term for the latter? Or do you mean the bottom of a US-style toilet, but without the few gallons of water, i.e. the 'shelf' is not a seperate component, but just the bottom of the ceramic toilet? I found them to be common in parts of Germany and parts of the Nederlands near the German border. This guy describes it in detail: http://www.asecular.com/~scott/misc/toilet.htm Thanks Alan, I knew that if I needed **** information, you'd come to the rescue! :-) Having seen that description, Mike is right, those "German" toilets *are* common in The Netherlands. However I don't understand what the big deal is! The picture of the "German toilet" is slightly, but essentially, wrong. What Mike calls "a sort of a shelf" is somewhat *hollow*, as *is* shown in the picture. In that hollow area, there is guess what, *water*! So we have: - "German toilet": Little water. - ""Normal" toilet": More water. - US toilet: Water up to your deleted. The webpage whines about having to flush the toilet eight or ten times. Well, I've seen no big difference in the flushing effectiveness. All of them need an extra flush once in a while. BUT, with the US ones - at least the ones I've seen in CA/NV - you don't have a brush+water device in the 'rest'room! Do I need to describe the consequences of that 'oversight'!? I had the same aversion to that design as he did. I presume they were designed to allow some anally-obsessed people to check stools for health purposes on a daily basis. So you prefer them floating around, instead of lying still!? And you confess to that in a *public newsgroup*!? :-) That visit to your house was not very likely to ever happen to begin with, but now it has even become less likely! :-) [...] |
#86
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Report from the US, a nice but somewhat backward country.
Alan S wrote:
The American system of the bernoulli suction effect was equally strange to us, with their high waterline and an unfortunate tendency to block easily. Again, someone else has described it better than I could: http://www.alldownunder.com/oz-k/rea...an-toilets.htm Thanks for the link Alan. |
#87
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Report from the US, a nice but somewhat backward country.
Frank Slootweg wrote:
Your description doesn't compute. With 'shelf' do you mean a moving, probably metal, plate in the 'output pipe' (don't know the right term for the latter? Or do you mean the bottom of a US-style toilet, but without the few gallons of water, i.e. the 'shelf' is not a seperate component, but just the bottom of the ceramic toilet? This website describes it, with pictures: http://www.alldownunder.com/oz-k/rea...an-toilets.htm Quote: "Not so the German toilet. The excrement lands on a bone-dry horizontal shelf, mere inches beneath one's posterior. Repeated flushings are required to slide the ordure off the shelf into a small water-filled hole, from which it hopefully disappears. See?" |
#88
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Report from the US, a nice but somewhat backward country.
John Kulp wrote:
Really? Born, bred and served in the US military, which gives me a much better claim to being one that some draft dodger hiding Canuck. Not dodging in Afghanistan are they? |
#89
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Report from the US, a nice but somewhat backward country.
pltrgyst wrote:
On Sat, 13 Dec 2008 21:10:37 +0100, Frank Slootweg wrote: John Kulp wrote: Excuse me? Our sales taxes range from zero to around 8%.... I just took the stack of receipts we have. The *very first*, a toy car, is already 8.5%, i.e. already *above* the maximum you mention. The US generally has state sales taxes. The California state sales tax is 7.25%. On top of this, you may have smaller district, county, or city sales taxes (generally less than 1%). The total of all sales taxes may indeed range as high as 8.5%. The *second* one, a meal, is already 12.3%! Many cities have special restaurant taxes in addition to the general sales tax. The *third*, a motel bill, is 12%. Most cities have special occupancy taxes for hotels in addition to the general sales tax. Thanks! So the *total* *tax* is indeed often much higher than what John said. That was my point. I already knew that *sales* tax wasn't the only tax, that why I *started* by saying "your *product* (i.e. sales, VAT, whatever) taxes", i.e. *any* tax which is added to the listed/ advertized price. |
#90
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Report from the US, a nice but somewhat backward country.
[Reposted. Please don't cut the newsgroups (without saying so).]
pltrgyst wrote: On Sat, 13 Dec 2008 21:10:37 +0100, Frank Slootweg wrote: John Kulp wrote: Excuse me? Our sales taxes range from zero to around 8%.... I just took the stack of receipts we have. The *very first*, a toy car, is already 8.5%, i.e. already *above* the maximum you mention. The US generally has state sales taxes. The California state sales tax is 7.25%. On top of this, you may have smaller district, county, or city sales taxes (generally less than 1%). The total of all sales taxes may indeed range as high as 8.5%. The *second* one, a meal, is already 12.3%! Many cities have special restaurant taxes in addition to the general sales tax. The *third*, a motel bill, is 12%. Most cities have special occupancy taxes for hotels in addition to the general sales tax. Thanks! So the *total* *tax* is indeed often much higher than what John said. That was my point. I already knew that *sales* tax wasn't the only tax, that why I *started* by saying "your *product* (i.e. sales, VAT, whatever) taxes", i.e. *any* tax which is added to the listed/ advertized price. |
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