State Tells Gas Station Owner To Up Prices

[Kor37 9]

State Tells Gas Station Owner to Up Prices

AP

MERRILL, Wis. (May 9) -- A service station that offered discounted gas to senior citizens and people supporting youth sports has been ordered by the state to raise its prices. Center City BP owner Raj Bhandari has been offering senior citizens a 2 cent per gallon price break and discount cards that let sports boosters pay 3 cents less per gallon.

 

But the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection says those deals are too good: They violate Wisconsin's Unfair Sales Act, which requires stations to sell gas for about 9.2 percent more than the wholesale price.

 

Bhandari said he received a letter from the state auditor in late April saying the state would sue him if he did not raise his prices. The state could penalize him for each discounted gallon he sold, with the fine determined by a judge.

 

Bhandari, who bought the station in May 2006, said he worries customers will think he stopped the discounts because he wants to make more money. About 10 percent of his customers had used the discount cards.

 

Dale Van Camp of Merrill said he bought a $50 card to support the local youth hockey program. It would have saved him about $100 per year on gas , he said.

 

 

 

Anybody out there still think there's no price gauging involved with these ridiculous gas prices?...

[He Who Shall Not Be Named 2]

There is, but not by the gas producers. It is by the government who wants higher prices because higher prices = higher sales taxes.

[Wishfire 2]

How can there be a law telling a business what the lowest price of a product can be?

[youbroughtheryouRiker 2]

It's called setting a price floor. Governments can do it.

 

It's gotta be one of those things where they do this to keep the total revenues from pushing it just into a higher bracket, thus forcing more taxes to be paid on it at the end of the year. Two and three cents per gallon discount will usually only short the gov't around 2-5 cents (depending on the sales tax in your state.) It's clearly one of those little things adding up (or not adding up in this case) type of situations to validate the reporting of lesser revenues.

[Gummy 0]

I'd tell the State to go to Hell.

I hope the owner stands up to them.

[Wishfire 2]

It's called setting a price floor. Governments can do it.

 

It's gotta be one of those things where they do this to keep the total revenues from pushing it just into a higher bracket, thus forcing more taxes to be paid on it at the end of the year. Two and three cents per gallon discount will usually only short the gov't around 2-5 cents (depending on the sales tax in your state.) It's clearly one of those little things adding up (or not adding up in this case) type of situations to validate the reporting of lesser revenues.

 

I still don't understand how any government has the right to do such a thing.

[Theunicornhunter 2]

Regulating financial services/activities is something the government loves to do. Their "right" to do it would come from the respective constitution (state or federal).

.

[Kor37 9]

I'm sure that the good citizens of Wisconsin will remember this governer at the next election.....

[MrPsychic 1]

I'd tell the State to go to Hell.

I hope the owner stands up to them.

Yea, then they'll pull his business license. The government sets minimum prices for basically three reasons. The first one is for farmers, like milk or eggs. That way, they won't go out of business. The second one is for gas or other goods, so there won't be a price war, with each business lowering it more and more. The third is basically racking up money, like cigarette prices.

[youbroughtheryouRiker 2]

Why revoke their business license when they can just seize the land in the name of Eminent Domain? That way, if they want their business back, they can auction it off to them and make them pay such a price for it that high prices will have to be the result.