Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
“Residents in Minnesota may have noticed a change on the menus in their favorite restaurants lately. That’s because on Jan. 1, the state enacted a law requiring businesses to include all mandatory fees and surcharges in the prices they display. So if a diner adds 5% to every bill for ‘wages and benefits’, for example, it must build that increase into the cost shown for every item it offers. Minnesota’s Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act is the latest confirmation of a broadening trend to protect consumers by bringing sunlight to pricing. The new law addresses what is variously called drip pricing or partition pricing, a common practice across industries ranging from ticketing to travel that stacks hidden fees at the end of transactions. In December, the Federal Trade Commission finalized a similar rule. A few months earlier, so did California. The concerns don’t stop there.” (01/08/25)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2025/0108/Sunlight-on-hidden-fees