A photograph of a receipt was posted on Twitter and it quickly went viral. It appeared that Soda Tapia was charging 26% for the value added tax. It turns out they were only charging 13% but it was listed in two lines on the receipt.
Once the math was done, it was found that although 13% tax was listed twice it was only applied once. It is encouraged to do the math and talk with the business owners about any discrepancies before going to social media. To see if you are charged correctly, multiply the cost of the item by .13 to get the vat.
The customer who posted the photo took it down and the soda in question is changing how their receipts are printed to avoid confusion in the future. The VAT is a 13% tax on all goods and services. It takes the place of sales tax.
After checking the math on your phone’s calculator, if there is a discrepancy that cannot be fixed with a discussion with the business owners, one should go to the Treasury or the Consumer Protection Office of the Ministry of Economy.
