I don't know about specific businesses, but when I got married, we had a cake tasting and we weren't charged for it. I don't think I would have went with that baker if she tried to charge us money before we even decided on using her for the wedding cake 
but that's my opinion as a consumer more than a baker.
This has been discussed many, many times before. I hope you will do a search for those threads as there are many different way to conduct this business.
I myself didn't charge. Others do, but then if they book the cake with you it is deducted from the price of the cake. This is a good way to do it I think. The fee is minimal - usually around $25 or $50.
As ^ said, this is one of those topics that doesn't have a definitive answer.
I live in Charleston, SC. I can't think of a single baker (including the BIG names) that charge for consultations. It just isn't done in this area. However, there are some parts o the state where consultations are $20-50. The fee is put toward the cost if the cake. I do not charge for the initial consultation. I do charge for additional sample cakes.
My suggestion is to check the norm for your area as well as decide what you feel is best.
I don't charge for tastings but a couple of people around here have started to. I won't do it, I do think that it dissuades people. I do all of my tastings back to back on the same day, though, so I only have to bake samples once, and that way if I have a no-show it isn't a big deal.
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