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wiredfool6y ago· 1 in thread

Vat is applied in the price in the UK, and sales tax is at checkout in the US.

Interesting, I'd find that super annoying as a consumer that's used to seeing the full price (ex. delivery) upfront. Is this standard practice for online US stores?

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zapnuk6y ago· 1 in thread

399$ equals 365.88€. With German VAT it's 435.40€ which is somewhat close to the 479€ Apple is asking for.

MagnumOpus6y ago

Where "somewhat close" means more than 10% more expensive, same as for the UK.

Maybe US consumers get a device subsidy because they are expected to buy more of the expensive apps and services, sort of like in a razor/blade model?

cletus6y ago

As always, US pries are ex-tax (meaning state sales taxes are added on and can be as much as 10% depending on city and state). Most other places (UK included) as inc-tax. If you take out the 20% VAT you get to 349 GBP, which is ~437 USD at current exchange rates. That's not that far off.

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nimish6y ago

Vat accounts for most the difference, plus any increase to buffer currency volatility and cover the extra consumer rights.

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