Let that sink in. The city already takes a generous cut of every transaction. But at least that rate is public, codified, and — in theory — the same for everyone. What's not okay is a business quietly padding the tax line to pocket an extra dollar here, an extra dollar there, and hoping nobody notices.

And for a while, nobody did. As one local put it bluntly: "Damn, I should pay attention to my receipts more often." Same, honestly.

When eagle-eyed customers ran the numbers, the math was revealing. The actual sales tax came out correctly at $1.45 on one order — but there was an extra dollar tacked on, buried under the "tax" label. That's not a rounding error. That's a hidden fee disguised as a government levy, which is illegal on multiple fronts. You can't just invent taxes. That's the government's job.

One SF resident didn't mince words: "La Boulangerie? More like La bou-behind-bars-for-tax-fraud." Harsh, but the frustration is earned.

This kind of thing matters beyond one bakery. San Francisco already has a transparency problem with restaurant surcharges — the infamous "SF Mandate" fees that show up on checks across the city. Some businesses are upfront about them. Others bury costs in creative ways. But misrepresenting a fee as a tax crosses a clear legal line.

If you've been overcharged, you have options: demand a refund from the business, report it to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, or file a complaint with the Franchise Tax Board. It takes five minutes, and it's the only way businesses learn that customers are actually reading the fine print.

The broader lesson? In a city where everything already costs too much, the least we can ask is that the number on the receipt is honest. Trust but verify — especially the tax line.