Blake,
It seems that you are not understanding the concept that the service charge IS part of the cost of the meal. To call it a tax would be incredibly dishonest and is also against the law. It is NOT a tax or some strange/double dipping additional charge - it could have been added DIRECTLY into the item cost. But to add it into the food cost would not help the employees take home pay when times are busy. This simple procedure allows the employees to have a bit higher take home pay when times are good. In order to help the employees receive a little more benefit from the tourism industry, the service charge is calculated as a separate item. As pointed out, this allows all the employees to receive a bit more money than just their hourly wages when times are busy. Think of the shared service charge as a bonus to their hourly wages.
As I mentioned in the other Service Charge thread that was posted earlier, "It is often speculated that the employees never see the service charge. You may even hear that from the employees themselves. But this is simply not true. If a business has a service charge, then the business can be fined and even closed should they do not share this with all their hourly employees. A server may say they never see the money, but they do see their percentage of that charge which is of course much smaller depending on the number of employees. For the example above, the server may feel they didnt get anything from it, because they never saw 90% of the charge. But they did receive their percentage on their paycheck." Simply put, not every employee is privy to how the restaurant's accounting operates, nor is it in their immediate interest to let you know the exact details.
You ask why the food prices are on par with the US prices. That is because Jamaica is a small developing island nation and needs to import the vast majority of what is served. Take into account that fuel prices are way more expensive in Jamaica (gas is about us$6 a gallon, what did you pay this weekend?) and electric charges are higher than the US, and imported items are higher in cost than in the US, and it is easily understandable why the costs are what they are on the menu. You are not in the USA but Jamaica, so you have to readjust your thinking to take into account the differences between a major world power with vast natural resources and a small developing island nation.
Many restaurants choose to not have a service charge and raise their menu prices to reflect this. If the government dis-allowed service charges tomorrow, the menu item costs would go up at places that have a service charge. You would pay the same either way. But at present, for places that do have a service charge, this simple accounting breakdown allows the employees to directly benefit from tourism when times are busy. And of course you will pay GCT on the food bill - both the menu item cost AND the service charge (if applicable) are the cost of the meal.
