Letter | It’s time to make restaurant pricing in Myrtle Beach and elsewhere more truthful

We need honesty in meal pricing

Isn't it about time we did away with the archaic practice of tipping in restaurants?

It is time to stop sugar-coating the cost of meals by listing the menu price, sans tip. In this day and age, a 20 percent tip is pretty much mandatory. That’s why it should be included in the meal’s price.

Although restauranteurs barely pay their employees, they have carte blanche to overprice for meals, due to the invisibility of the added charge for the tip.

That never comes into play until the diner’s plates, and wallets, are empty. This amounts to false advertising.

The fact that wait-service employees do not want this practice eliminated is moot. They are able to earn large sums that are not included in their taxable income. This, of course, makes them happy. It would make me happy too.

However, at tax time, what amounts to a cumulatively exorbitant figure cannot be deducted from our incomes which are, in fact, totally taxable.

This story was originally published July 4, 2015 at 6:03 AM with the headline "Letter | It’s time to make restaurant pricing in Myrtle Beach and elsewhere more truthful."