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California-Orange County
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Sale tax on top of service fees

jnpn310jnpn310 member
First Comment
in California-Orange County
Is it possible to have a sale tax on top of service fees?  We just checked with one of the venues that we are interested in and notice that they charge additional 8.75% sale tax on top of their 19% service fees which mean the tip alone will be almost 30%.  Does anyone experience this with their venue or just us? 
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Re: Sale tax on top of service fees

  • kasarinkasarin member
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    They did it on our venue too at the Summit House.
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  • trishamarieharritrishamarieharri member
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Unfortunately, it’s true. We’ve seen it at almost every venue we’ve looked at. It causes a bit of sticker shock at first.
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  • portolaportola member
    Fifth Anniversary 10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    I was wondering, if they have a service charge, why do you still have tip them? site fees tax service fees tips is there anyone who is not tipping out there? isn't that what the service fees are for?
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  • trishamarieharritrishamarieharri member
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    I've tried to look around for info on this and haven't found a clear cut answer. Here is a link to the knot's tipping guide, maybe this will help: http://wedding.theknot.com/wedding-planning/wedding-budget/articles/wedding-vendor-tipping-cheat-sheet.aspx
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  • TerriniskiTerriniski
    500 Comments
    edited December 2011
    When planning, I had heard that service fees were not tips, so I considered that as part of the cost.  However, I did not tip based on a percentage of the total cost - ask your caterer how many servers/staff will be assisting with your wedding and what is an appropriate range for tips.  The caterer we used told us $25-$100 per server, and using the tipping tip sheet from theknot we figured out amounts for the servers, chefs, bartender, catering manager, etc. Good luck!
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  • vicymarvicymar
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    That is how our place is, we are getting married at the Westminster Rose Center, and also a lot of other places we saw had that
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  • jnpn310jnpn310 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Thanks everyone!  I guess it is common then I guess all those venues just love to charge us left and right just because we are having a "wedding" and not another type of event.  We are trying to find ways to not pay for this ridiculous charges but seem like there's no way out :(
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  • TerriniskiTerriniski
    500 Comments
    edited December 2011
    There may be no way out of the charge, but tips are always optional, in my opinion, so that amount is up to you.  Your venue might be able to tell you how much the staff earn as an hourly wage - if you think that that payment is appropriate for the service they provide, then I would say you should not feel obligated to tip.  But if you find out they don't make much and they did a great job, then yeah, it sucks to pay so much but it's probably a nice gesture to tip.
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  • corderomichellecorderomichelle member
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    This is typical - I know there are some privately owned places that take cash and do not charge tax but the service fees are usually to pay their workers and employees and hands for the day.The tax is for Arnold, the state, taxes... In case you wondered where it all went..<3, Michelle Petals by XaviFloral Design and Wedding Coordination Work: michelle@petalsbyxavi.com Personal: corderomichelle@yahoo.com
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