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A taxi ride from the airport for $12, two bananas for Rps 60, and endless overquoting by rickshaw drivers are just a few of the never ending white
tax Rps foreigners are asked to pay. What is white tax? Well it is a rather consistent occurrence of locals asking for a higher than local price, when something is purchased by a foreigner (usual Caucasian) be it a service or a good. White tax covers most developing countries, India is however one of which where it is significantly prevailing.
Hate it or love it (I don?t see how that can happen though), but that tax is here to stay for many years to come. Some people claim this white tax not to be as significant as foreigners make it to be. This could very well be true, as many foreigners become paranoid about them paying too much for something. The truth is they should be, as they are consistently over quoted and in total foreigners may be paying as much as 25%
(GFF)* more than most Indians pay even after they have bargained.
But is it really true that locals do not
have the same problems? They do!, but not to
the same extent. India is a bargaining country
(for the most part) and be it part of their
culture or just part of their greediness
everyone has to go through it. It is the
generalizing thought of white people having
more money that spurs the overpricing, which
is pure logic of course. Would you not be
doing the same thing if you were in their
situation? Maybe, maybe not.
From my experiences of traveling through
China I found that I (being Caucasian) had
gotten better prices than other Chinese
tourists! These Chinese tourists spoke the
language and looked Chinese, however they were
not from that city and thus were taxed for
their foreignness. Or were they!? To a certain
extent it is the way you conduct yourself that
determines the amount you pay too much is it
not?
As much as it in my nature, I try not to
smile to the person I am bargaining with any
longer, as I have learned that showing no
emotion and lack of interest in what you are
going to purchase, can get you a better price.
There are hundreds of exceptions though, but
one sure I am pretty sure about seeming like
you know what you are doing (even though you
don?t) can get you a far better price.
Many people go into emotional flusters
usually of the negative kind when they are
being over quoted again and again, but is it
really worth all this emotional effort? For
many foreigners they do have far more money
than the locals, why not just avoid mental
distress and go with the higher price, it
usually won?t kill your budget?
What do you think is the right way to get
around and deal with white tax?
* Gut feeling figure
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