Introduction

Shops in the USA and Canada

Credit cards are widely accepted.

All prices quoted in shops, restaurants, motels, etc. in the USA and Canada, except for petrol, exclude the state sales tax (or in Canada, PST and GST). The rate varies from state to state.

In Canada there is a provincial sales tax (PST) and also the federal GST tax, which is similar to VAT. If you obtain a copy of the "Rebate for Visitors" leaflet from a travel agent, keep all your receipts for accommodation and non-consumable items and fill in the form in the leaflet, then you can claim back the GST tax from a duty-free shop at the border when you leave Canada. This is a bit of a time-consuming business, but well worth doing as the amount involved can be quite considerable.

Although American and Canadian towns often have a central business district, most modern shops will be found on the approach roads outside the town. Each of these shops has its own huge open air car park. It is difficult to convey just how spread out even the smallest North American town is, and how impossible it would be to walk between the shops.