Why can’t we do a reverse split of our currency? Print new dollars and change and on some date new dollar is the effective currency and you can trade in 10 old dollars for one new dollar?
The last-ever penny will be minted today in Philadelphia
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Re: The last-ever penny will be minted today in Philadelphia
#892Why can’t we do a reverse split of our currency? Print new dollars and change and on some date new dollar is the effective currency and you can trade in 10 old dollars for one new dollar?
Turkey did it some years ago (2005). Removed six zeroes and named it something like “new lira”. Then named it back to “lira” after most of the old money is out of circulation.
20 years later, I think some more zeroes are available to be removed :)
Re: The last-ever penny will be minted today in Philadelphia
#893We eliminated pennies in Canada in 2012 and the transition was a non-issue. The vast majority of retailers would round cash transactions to the nearest $0.05, but a few would round down to the nearest $0.05 in favor of the customer. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Withdrawal_of_low-denomination... Canadian cash is better than American cash in several ways: No penny, durable polymer banknotes (instead of dirty wrinkly c…
> $1 and $2 coins in wide circulation (instead of worn-out $1 bills). This has its own pros/cons... One advantage of $1 bill over coin is the majority of people in US don't need a wallet with zipper to hold coins. Five $1 bills is much less bulky and much lighter than five $1 CAD or five 1€ coins
I would contend that 5 bills are more bulky than 5 coins. The only upside of dealing with US bills when travelling in the US is that you feel like a millionaire when you pull out the massive wad of bills from your pocket.
Re: The last-ever penny will be minted today in Philadelphia
#894I'd say screw it, get rid of nickles and dimes as well. Quarters can stay, for now. It's a complete waste of money and time continuing to mint such low-value currency. It can't be used for just about anything. Unfortunately, I do see the problem with part of this. For a handful of items where it does matter, it will force people to use cards more if they want to avoid rounding. And the card providers already have a c…
I know you're referencing more than pennies, but to speak to pennies, I find the current rounding noise in the US to be weird. Likely, it's just more of the media, talking heads, and youtube personalities trying to turn a nothing into something, story. Back when we did it in Canada, I don't recall a single person I knew concerned about penny rounding. Everyone was sick of pennies. No one cared. Everyone was happy. An…
Also to add we are already rounding. When you do taxes it does not come out to a full penny. There is a fraction of a penny (hi there office space and superman 3). That fraction is already rounded. Also many transactions are with credit cards. Those can just keep going the way they are and no rounding needed.
Re: The last-ever penny will be minted today in Philadelphia
#895Earlier quoted context omitted.
Problem is it isn't just the $5.99 rounds to $6.00 it is tax. If the end cost is $6.36 will the state be happy with that one penny less? For any state 1 penny per transaction is millions of dollars per year! (note that I had to change your price from 4.99 to 5.99 - 5.00 times any tax rate is an even multiple of 5 and so cannot make the point).
In Canada, the rounding is done after tax, and only affects what the cash-paying customer or vendor receives. The sales tax amount is not affected.
It seems crazy to even advertise the pre-tax price.
Re: The last-ever penny will be minted today in Philadelphia
#896Earlier quoted context omitted.
Prices in the US are not tax-inclusive, so the effect of sales tax ruins that plan.
So you're telling me that when I buy stuff for 12.34 that is not the amount I have to pay, but some bigger amount that I have no way to calculate precisely unless I know exactly which sales tax rules are applicable for my purchase? It's baffling how backasswards the US is.
American taxes are Conway's law, but for politics.
Re: The last-ever penny will be minted today in Philadelphia
#897Earlier quoted context omitted.
IIRC, in New York it’s illegal to absorb sales tax on individual items because by law it’s a consumer tax collected by the business and explicitly not a tax on the business itself, but - and it’s a pretty big exception - anything sold as a bulk good can include the tax in the price. That includes things like liquid fuels, grains or candy by the scoop in the supermarket, loose sand/gravel/salt/whatever for outdoor use…
Who actually pays the tax depends on the Elasticity of the consumer and the business. Who the law says it should be collected from, is really irrelevant.
Go run a local retail business in conflict with state law and regulations. Then tell me how irrelevant those laws are.
Re: The last-ever penny will be minted today in Philadelphia
#898Earlier quoted context omitted.
Who actually pays the tax depends on the Elasticity of the consumer and the business. Who the law says it should be collected from, is really irrelevant.
Go run a local retail business in conflict with state law and regulations. Then tell me how irrelevant those laws are.
The law only says by whom and how the tax is collect, it doesn't specify the tax burden, because it can't, that's only observable and happens due to supply and demand.
Re: The last-ever penny will be minted today in Philadelphia
#899Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's because technically the dollar is divided into Dimes, Cents, and Mil. (this is why dimes say 'One Dime' on them instead of 'Ten Cents'. So while the mil isn't really used anywhere else that regular people see any more due to inflation, it is a valid division of the dollar and that's why they are able to get away with it.
I'd like to clarify that point a bit. They're allowed to get away with it because of a dysfunctional lobbying driven government. Mils don't exist in the common knowledge and if any reasonable person looked at this they'd call it out. It is useful in accounting but a Mill has never been minted and the last half penny was minted in 1857. It has never been possible using issued physical legal tender in the US to pay a d…
Certain states have manufactured plastic mill tokens in the 1920s and 30s to aid in the payment of taxes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sales_tax_token
Re: The last-ever penny will be minted today in Philadelphia
#900Earlier quoted context omitted.
Has a Mil ever been minted?
It has not - and it's been more than 150 years since the last sub-cent denomination (the half penny) was minted.
Not by the US mint but they exist: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sales_tax_token