"it really does not matter since no one (individuals) have filed for bankruptcy because of the .05 percent surcharge. while it does raise the cost of goods and services, it is not so severe that people cannot purchase the necessities needed to live."

How do you claim to know this?  And if you don't know this, why are you claiming it?  The General Excise Tax is highly regressive and hits the poor and struggling families the hardest.

And one reason stores raise prices here is to pay their General Excise Tax that then gets baked into the higher costs of food, clothing, medicine, and rent.