Journalist: John Manigah (ORU)
The most inconvenient issue shoppers face today is that the price listed for what they would like to buy is not the actual price they will pay at the register. This has proven problematic in America, and Representative Ivey, a three-star delegate from Tulsa University, presented the “Transparent Pricing Act”, passing both the House and the Senate to address this issue.
The bill requires the display price in stores to include the sales tax that comes with the item, so buyers know the actual price of what they will be purchasing once they reach the register.
Key Provisions of TU-503
- Prices are listed transparently.
- Bill requires businesses to include sales tax and other mandatory fees that customers have to pay once they reach the register
- Exemptions
- Optional add-ons or tips are exempt from the displayed full price.
- Online shopping sources are exempt from including sales tax in their Display Price, but are still required to include the customer’s mandatory fees.
- Signage and pricing updates
- Businesses have one year to update display prices in accordance with the sales tax, one year after the signing of this bill.
A simple bill wins the majority.
Representative Ivy wrote this simple one-page bill to help Oklahoma families have a smoother shopping experience. “I think it’s inconvenient… Oklahoma families deserve to know what they’re going to pay before they get to the checkout aisle. I could imagine it being very hard to get to the checkout aisle and then realize, ‘Oh, I didn’t properly do the math to figure out how much tax I have to pay, now I can’t afford what’s in my cart,” said Ivey.
Representative Spears from OSU voted in favor of this bill, as he felt it would help customers know exactly what they are paying for. “It reminded me a lot of when I was in Switzerland. They have a lot of transparent pricing laws, where you purchase an item at its exact price…You know exactly what you’re getting, taxes and everything included,” said Spears.
Representative Chelsea Maxwell from Southeastern University voted against the bill, but not because she disagreed with it; rather, she felt that there needed to be two listed display prices, one with the sales tax included and one without, in order to protect consumers from price manipulation. “I knew this was going to pass. I do think it’s really good. I just wish that both prices were displayed next to each other,” said Maxwell.