First, nothing like a discussion on taxes/prices to get a spirited discussion going.

I concede my ignorance of British tax structure, to say nothing of consumer law, and yes, as a visitor I do like having hotel prices, for example, include the VAT. And yes, I'm operating out of familiarity with our own local sales tax structure, which I agree is nightmarishly complicated. (Our system isn't even consistent: for example, taxes on gas and alcohol, which apply in addition to sales taxes, are embedded in the price of the product.)

That said, the argument we are having isn't resolved by stressing that the 'price you see [ought to be] the price you should pay', since what is a price and what isn't forms the basis of much of our discussion in the first place.

So, what is a price? A fair price is supposed to be one that is set in a freely competitive market - but can governments be said to operate in a competitive market? (One is not free to shop around for a different government with which to do business - at least, that's the theory....) For that matter, can airports, given that many are monopolies, be said to operate in free/fair markets? And if a large portion of an airline's costs consists of taxes and fees levied by agencies not operating in a fair market, to what extent should airlines be held accountable to rules about pricing and advertising that properly apply only in fair markets? In other words, the airlines don't get any assurances that 'the tax rate you see today is the tax you will be required to pay tomorrow'; since airports and governments operate independently of each other, they are free to change their terms unilaterally at any time. This is a significant issue, given that airline margins these days can be extremely small - profit or loss depends on the airline's ability to predict, pretty closely, what their costs will be.

So to some extent - I stress, to some extent (for yes, I know well they abuse the practice) - I see airlines resorting to listing taxes/fees separately from their base costs as reasonable, if not exactly convenient for the consumer.

Meanwhile, there are also practical considerations to publishing fee-inclusive prices by services that are heavily taxed and monitored, as indeed airlines are. If airfares are to be published in nondynamic media such as print newspapers, as opposed to dynamic media such as Internet web sites, then the airline has no way to advertise as USflyer suggests, by going to a database and pulling up a price to suit.