For those of you, like me, who have no idea WTF a public improvement fee (PIF) is, I grabbed this off a newspaper where people were wondering the same thing.
"PIF stands for Public Improvement Fee, and you may have seen it as an extra charge on a receipt when shopping around Colorado Springs or going out for dinner.
It’s not a tax, like some think it is. This fee does not come from the city, and it does not come from the store. The PIF is taken by the developer, or the landlord, of the property.
For example, at the Shoppes at South Nevada near Motor City, there is a Chick-fil-A, Zoe’s Kitchen, and Natural Grocers. At all of these establishments, there is a 2 percent PIF. That means whatever you spend on dinner or groceries, you’ll pay an additional 2 percent fee on top of the sales tax.
All three businesses in that area tell FOX21 they receive complaints about the PIF every day. They simply try to explain to the customer that it was put into place by the landlord, not the store itself.
We got a copy of the information booklet about PIFs given to the shops. It says the purpose of the PIF is to “find public improvements and other eligible costs associated with redevelopment and revitalization of the shopping center and surrounding areas.” "
So from what I can tell, different Target stores in the some town might or might not have the fee based on their landlord and the amounts could be different depending on how much the landlord chooses to charge.
I don't think this guy understands how it works but it is possible the POS is figuring it wrong.