Do unexpected taxes cause significant abandonment?

I've been running my online fashion accessories store for three years now, and lately, I've noticed something troubling. Our cart abandonment rate has been creeping up, and after some deep analysis, I'm pretty sure unexpected taxes are killing our conversions. Here's the scenario: customers browse, find something they love, add it to cart, and then get hit with shipping costs and taxes they didn't anticipate. The total suddenly jumps 15-20% higher than what they initially saw, and boom—they're gone. It's incredibly frustrating because we're losing sales not because of product quality or pricing, but because of surprise fees. I've watched heat maps and session recordings, and you can literally see the moment customers bail when they see the final price. Our average order value is around $85, and these unexpected charges can add $12-$15 to the total. For budget-conscious shoppers, that's a deal-breaker. I know we need transparency, but how do we communicate these additional costs without scaring customers away before they complete their purchase? This isn't just about losing a single sale—it's about the long-term trust and customer experience we're trying to build.