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Cash only in Berlin

thecritic.co.uk

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Re: Cash only in Berlin

#81

Post by jeroenhd »

conanbatt wrote: post #77
jeroenhd wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can still not pay your taxes if you want to use tax fraud as a method of civil disobedience. The government doesn't just grab a random bank account and take money from it. Sure, they'll send collections after you and get the money one way or another, but it's not like a bank account is going to make any difference there. They'll force open your door and sell your stuff if you make it hard enough for them, not sur…

It makes the whole difference. the harder it is to do, the less they do it. If not, why would they care?

They care when people owe them money, the same way you care when people owe you money. They prefer not to have to bother to send someone to your house because even though you'll be the one paying for the extra costs, it takes time and effort spent better on other things.

I'm sure the "taxation is theft" crazies will have some legal fanfiction about how the government can't just take your money if you only use cash but in practice you're only getting yourself into trouble for no good reason if you try to commit tax fraud.

Re: Cash only in Berlin

#82

Post by jeroenhd »

spoils19 wrote: post #78
jeroenhd wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But all the restaurants I visited have shifted to bringing the portable pay unit for tap-and-pay at the table, which I much prefer to leaving the card on the bill in the US and having it disappear for a moment while they ring you up at the central POS (still the standard practice in the US places I live near). Perhaps offtopic, but that's such a ridiculously scary concept to me. I was already nervous when in anothe…

This comment is arguably bordering on anti-Americanism. This method has worked well for us for decades, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with it.

Payment culture differs between countries and just because I'm uncomfortable with the American way of doing things doesn't mean the American way is necessarily bad.

I'm used to not handing out my credit card for payment like I'm used to not handing out my wallet to pay. I'd love to live in a culture where I could trust random people to take my wallet, take only what I'm due, and then not abuse that trust.

Re: Cash only in Berlin

#83

Post by conanbatt »

jeroenhd wrote: post #81
conanbatt wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It makes the whole difference. the harder it is to do, the less they do it. If not, why would they care?

They care when people owe them money, the same way you care when people owe you money. They prefer not to have to bother to send someone to your house because even though you'll be the one paying for the extra costs, it takes time and effort spent better on other things. I'm sure the "taxation is theft" crazies will have some legal fanfiction about how the government can't just take your money if you only use cash bu…

Are you sure you have always paid all your taxes?

Re: Cash only in Berlin

#85

Post by jeroenhd »

conanbatt wrote: post #83
jeroenhd wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They care when people owe them money, the same way you care when people owe you money. They prefer not to have to bother to send someone to your house because even though you'll be the one paying for the extra costs, it takes time and effort spent better on other things. I'm sure the "taxation is theft" crazies will have some legal fanfiction about how the government can't just take your money if you only use cash bu…

Are you sure you have always paid all your taxes?

Pretty sure, yeah. My tax forms have always been filled in for me because the government already knows what I earned from what company. It's why doing taxes takes five to ten minutes every year. With income tax held back automatically by the employer and VAT and other tariffs added directly to the store price, I've never had to think about this stuff.

It's possible that I may have dodged a few dollars of taxes when buying crap out of China when they put a fake bill in the outside to dodge import taxes, but I don't believe there's a way for a consumer to manually pay those once the package has crossed the border undetected. These days they've changed the system, though, so I don't think it would happen again.

Re: Cash only in Berlin

#86

Post by LargoLasskhyfv »

gambiting wrote: post #62

Quick rant about paying for things in Germany - last week I was driving with my family through Germany, after 12 hours in the car we stopped for the night in a random village near Magdeburg, but it was already 9pm and we haven't eaten. We were pointed to a local greek restaurant, which turned out to be fantastic, really good food, but when the time to pay came, I was told they don't accept Visa or MasterCard. Only "E…

For future reference maybe:

https://support.shell.de/hc/de/articles/360010717657-Kann-ic...

https://www.shell.de/mobilitaet/tanken/shell-tankstellensuch...

Re: Cash only in Berlin

#87

Post by conanbatt »

jeroenhd wrote: post #85
conanbatt wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you sure you have always paid all your taxes?

Pretty sure, yeah. My tax forms have always been filled in for me because the government already knows what I earned from what company. It's why doing taxes takes five to ten minutes every year. With income tax held back automatically by the employer and VAT and other tariffs added directly to the store price, I've never had to think about this stuff. It's possible that I may have dodged a few dollars of taxes when b…

Sounds great. I have a business proposition for you.

I will pay you 1000 dollars for the right of taking every single asset you have if at any point it is proven you haven't paid all your corresponding taxes.

This is free money for you and your sense of justice. I can send a contract as soon as today.

Re: Cash only in Berlin

#88

Post by itsyaboi »

orwin wrote: post #61
itsyaboi wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What a weak interpretation. > The author of this article seems to make some very obscure points here. First and foremost: "You have to work pretty hard to find a bar serving traditional Germanic beverages and food." What does the author define as "Germanic" beverages and food? As a german that has lived for some time in Berlin I'm quite sure that there are more than enough places to grab "Germanic" beverages and food…

Germany is probably the european country i know the less, despite learning german in school and working at a franco-german company for my second internship. So i won't talk about the traditionnal restaurant in germany, but just so you know: In France, Spain and Portugal, traditional restaurants don't stand out much (With the exception of French Bouillons like Chartier maybe?). So maybe you have some points in your co…

Is there a specific section of legalese you meant to link to? If not, it's a bit foolish on your part to expect the average (non-legal expert) to parse this. I let ChatGPT do it for me.

Prompt: Summarize the contents of EU 2015/2366

Response: EU 2015/2366, also known as the Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2), is a European Union directive that regulates payment services and payment service providers within the EU. It aims to increase competition and innovation in the payments industry, as well as enhance security and consumer protection. The directive requires payment service providers to implement strong customer authentication for electronic payments, and also allows for the use of third-party providers for certain payment-related services, such as account information and payment initiation. Additionally, it also includes provisions for the protection of consumer rights, such as the right to a refund in case of unauthorized payment transactions. Overall, it's a set of rules to increase safety and transparency of online payments and to foster competition between payment service providers, which ultimately should lead to better services and lower prices for consumers.

The only consumer rights mentioned are the right to refunds for unauthorized transactions. To the best of my knowledge, these companies can choose to cease doing business with you for any or no reason at all. Feel free to prove me wrong.

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