Q&A: Using a Forbidden Option as Leverage in Negotiation
Using a Forbidden Option as Leverage in Negotiation
Question
Hello,
I assume that from the standpoint of Jewish law it is forbidden both to evade taxes and to buy “off the books” (at a discount). Is it permitted to use the possibility of tax evasion in order to pressure someone who does report taxes into giving a discount?
More specifically: Anonymous can buy “off the books” at a discount of, say, 1,000 NIS. But he has no interest in doing that and will not do it. There is a “legitimate” seller (who charges 1,000 NIS more than the off-the-books seller), and Anonymous wants to tell him: “Give me a 200 NIS discount or I’ll go buy off the books.” The expectation is that, having no choice, the legitimate seller will “give in” and lower the price. And if he doesn’t lower it, then the truth is that Anonymous will in fact buy from him even without the discount.
A. Is this permitted in purely halakhic terms? And what about other value-based or ethical considerations?
B. Presumably, telling someone “Give me a discount or I’ll beat you up” is forbidden even if in practice there is no intention of beating him up. Is that correct, and what is the reasoning?
Answer
I think this is an ethical problem (of lying and deception) or a halakhic one, but not a legal one; in my opinion it is not a legal prohibition in the sense of outright theft. At most, this is a kind of “he was coerced into selling.” I think this is no different from threatening violence. There too, the problem is ethical or halakhic in the sense discussed in Yoreh De’ah, but not halakhic in the sense of Choshen Mishpat.
In any case, it is clear that one should not do this.
Discussion on Answer
A Choshen Mishpat prohibition means that if you did it, what you have in your hands is considered theft. That, in my opinion, is not the case here. But there are non-legal prohibitions here (and in my opinion this is also forbidden by civil law: it is a threat to take an illegal step. But you’d have to ask a lawyer). For example: “Love your neighbor as yourself,” verbal mistreatment, lying, and so on.
Thank you.
Thank you, Rabbi, but regarding the non-legal prohibitions: is it also forbidden for me to say, “If you don’t give a discount, I’m not buying,” even though in practice I plan to buy even if he doesn’t give one? This is something people do every day, using this basic scare tactic. Am I supposed to reveal my exact position in every negotiation?!
You don’t have to reveal it, but you may not lie. If you haggle without saying that otherwise you won’t buy, that’s fine.
Thank you, Rabbi. The truth is that this is a real novelty to me, and very hard to put into practice. A significant part of what I do involves bargaining with service providers or sellers of goods, and I’ve never felt any difference in the negotiation process between religious and secular people. Everyone uses explicit threats to walk away from the deal. It feels a bit like tying one hand behind my back (and being the only one tied up — at least that’s how it seems to me). I never thought of this as problematic.
Unfortunately, in many areas you won’t find any difference. In this case, in my opinion secular people also should not do it, because there is an ethical problem here. By the way, for that reason this phenomenon is also common among people who are careful about the commandments in other areas. Their feeling is that this is a moral matter and not a religious obligation, and they are used to treating moral obligations lightly.
I think you can bargain in a more sophisticated way without saying that you won’t buy. You can speak in a tone that conveys hesitation.
Rabbi, I thought about it, and I’m sorry, but if this is “only” a moral obligation and not a halakhic one, I’m not sure an old dog like me can learn new tricks. I understand that this is not quite the right question, because if it’s forbidden then it’s forbidden, but could the Rabbi still please clarify whether there is a halakhic problem with standard, accepted bluffing within a negotiation? Jewish law is ironclad for me.
Well, apparently I asked a somewhat unfair question. Okay. Thank you very much, Rabbi, for all the answers and for the patience.
I came to ask about A, and along the way the Rabbi also pulled the ground out from under B, like an earthquake in the middle of the ocean. “As people say: the camel went to ask for horns — and the ears it had were cut off from it.”
The questions are fair and good, and everything is fine. It’s easy for me to give such answers from my armchair at home. The person who actually carries these things out in real life, like you — happy is he, and happy is his lot. I hope I will have some share in these good deeds (or in refraining from evil).
And as for the proverb, as the better version says: the camel went to sell horns, and ears grew in their place.
Thank you, Rabbi, but I didn’t quite understand.
What does “halakhic but not legal” mean, and what is the difference between Yoreh De’ah and Choshen Mishpat in halakhic terms?