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credit card fees
I think we all need to start a protest over credit card fees. Local businesses are all starting to charge extra if we want to use a credit card. Most places, like ebay, refuse to take American Express because their fees are higher than other companies. I don't know if sellers get different benefits from different cards or what the deal is there. But the point is, this is a business expense. They can write those credit card fees off on their taxes. They can do this, even if they are charging us upfront, to cover those fees. I cannot write off the fees I pay to have a credit card. I can't deduct the interest either. So I pay an annual fee to have American Express, and I may or may not pay interest (although I always pay it off every month to avoid that). The thing is, there is a cost in dealing with cash too. Why aren't they charging us their banking fees? They won't be happy until they don't have to pay for anything, and we just give them all the money.
What's next? Is PayPal going to decide their huge profits are not enough and start charging me for CC fees upfront, while they write everything off and pay zero in taxes every year? This is why I never vote Republican. Why do companies think they can write everything off to avoid taxes, while they are charging us for the fees they claim as a business expense? This is a tourist area. It is not feasible to expect that people visiting from out of the state, will not use a credit card. Those credit cards help businesses make way more money. Why should they get that benefit for free? And why does Ebay have a say in what forms of payment sellers can accept? It is puzzling to me.
There is a family in our area who shall go unnamed. They are billionaires, and are buying up all the businesses in a large geographic area--condos, restaurants, gift shops, whatever. They have a company that manages all these properties. And all of those places either give "a discount for cash" or charge an extra fee for using a credit card. If they are also claiming this as a business expense on taxes, it is fraud, in my opinion. But if this loophole is closed, they will charge us more anyway with higher prices. No amount of profit will ever be enough for them. Today's inflation is mostly caused by greedy corporate types that pay zero in income tax and still want more of our money while we pay taxes. They don't want to pay taxes that may benefit someone less fortunate, or for public schools because their kids are all grown, or even for police, or roads or anything. They want to choose where their money goes. Time to put a stop to this.
