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Section III English On-the-job: Sales Tax and Tipping |  |

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Read the passage carefully, and retell the passage.

Sales Tax and Tipping
Most cities or states in the US collect a sales tax on almost everything you buy. You may ask when you move into a new community how much the local sales tax is, and what items are and are not taxable. Both taxable items and the amount of tax vary considerably from place to place, from one or two percent in some places up to eight or ten in others. The New York City sales tax, for example, is currently 8%, so if you buy a pair of $40 shoes you will actually have to pay $43.20. This makes paying and getting correct change much more difficult (not to mention making everything more expensive).

Another thing that makes money changes more complicated is tipping. The Chinese people have happily put an end to tipping, but Westerners are still plagued with this indignity. Waiters and waitresses, cab drivers, hotel bellboys, barbers and hairdressers and all sorts of other people must be tipped. Their employers give them low wages because it is expected that you, the customer, will make up the difference. If you don’t, the service person can’t earn a living. Tipping also varies from place to place, generally in the range of 15% of your bill (before taxes), but again you should ask local residents whom to tip and how much. There is another kind of tipping as well. You are generally expected to give something (either cash or a bottle of whisky) to the mailman at Christmas time. You should discuss this also with neighbors and friends.

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