Firstly, given the low margins (and I'm not justifying this) in India, a lot of over-charging does take place. Not just to visitors from abroad, but even to others. I routinely get overcharged while travelling in a rickshaw in Bangalore or Mumbai. The smart ones here are (often) Western tourists who subscribe to sites like Indiamike.com and know exactly what it costs to buy a rice-plate at Sarovar in Panjim or take a backwaters ride in Collamb (Quilon).
When Miguel posted the issue of a *luxury tax*, what he was referring to was simply the fact that those who go in for luxury items (whether foreigners, expats or locals) have to pay an additional tax on their items. For instance, five-starred hotels would be levying such an additional tax, but not the place where I, Cornel or Gabriel (with ABCDEFG kids, Australian-born conspicuously dressed English-accented foreign-returned Goan kids that is) could eat a Rs 20 rice-plate.
The issue is not local or expat/foreigner, but simply what kind of product or service your accessing.
BTW, from another point of view, given the fact that the international economy is so lop-sided against us in the Third World, it might not be unfair at all to have discriminatory pricing. It reminded me of a visit to East Berlin (from the West, as a student) in its last days sometime in 1990, when there were separate 'hard currency' shops for people with D-Marks, dollars, pounds (Euros weren't in yet). As a corollary, it meant that 'locals' were deprived from accessing the products in these shops. Dunno which is more unfair ;-)
It sometimes strikes me as terribly unfair that anyone -- including a dollar earning foreigner/expat -- can visit an museum in Goa for Rs 5 and enter the Science Centre for Rs 10, while infact the expenses for maintaining these infrastructure are paid for by local citizen collectively. In the West, of course, everyone pays a standard rate for entry, which is naturally calculated on the basis of the earnings of someone staying there! Not the fact that those staying in the so-called 'developing countries' earn maybe a tenth of what their counterparts do.
Tough luck mate, if you can't afford it, just don't travel ;-)
I'm not complaining here... just trying to say that an argument which seems quite fair (even to Cornel) can infact be not as cut-and-dry as made out to first be.
Incidentally, talking about luxuries, entertainment (including films) was long considered a luxury in India. Perhaps this tradition goes back to the 'fifties and 'sixties, when sufficient food was a luxury even for the middle-classes here. Consequently, the film-goer had to pay a huge tax on every ticket he or she bought. Which makes me wonder: at what rate is the Inox being taxed in Goa? Some journalists at the IFFI were telling a lobbyist against film 'piracy' that, in nearby Maharashtra, inspite of tax-breaks and tax-free rules for the multiplexes, they were charging visitors there as much as Rs 200 per ticket. Meaning, nearly a thousand bucks for a family of five! FN
On Tue, 21 Dec 2004, cornel wrote:
I was staggered and disgusted to learn that you were effectively 'done' at a Bangalore restaurant when a payment demand was made at a "tourist" rate following your use of a "domestic" menu. I would find such practice unacceptable in any part of the world on a point of principle if not warned in advance of any meal consumption. I therefore wonder if Fred Noronha/Goanet can advise us who to contact regarding a complaint, however insignificant it may seem, about such rogue/corrupt practice which leaves such a bad taste in the mouth.
Cornel
