If it ain't broke...

[PowerUser]

You mean the tax doubles the price of retail Vista Ultimate? That's some
serious EU tax!

How's it going, Bruce? I notice you've changed the quotes in your sig.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

You mean the tax doubles the price of retail Vista Ultimate? That's some
serious EU tax!

The EU countries do need higher taxes to support all of their social
programs, but I don't know just how much of that price is tax and how
much is retailer profiteering.

How's it going, Bruce? I notice you've changed the quotes in your sig.

It's going. Yeah, I change the quotes from time to time.

--

Bruce Chambers

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They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell

 

[Martin C]

Although there is higher tax here, the doubling of prices compared with the
US and UK is more down to profiteering by MS and other companies. They have
decided that as we are to be stomped on for some reason.

It is not just MS. Take for instance the Playstation 3. It is listed as
twice the price here than in the US. Also you are able to get the 80GB
version but we are not even offered the option. Maybe because it would cost
too much over here.

It is high time other countries treated Europe with the same prices as they
have. Just about everything software and hardware PC orientated is much
cheaper in the US - often by a factor of 2.

As for petrol - don't get me started.

Sorry, couldn't resist the winge.

Martin

 

[Gordon]

Although there is higher tax here, the doubling of prices compared with
the US and UK is more down to profiteering by MS and other companies. They
have decided that as we are to be stomped on for some reason.

It is not just MS.

And in fact it's most things US. If you look at almost anything that is
available in both the UK and US then the UK retail price is usually the US
dollar price in pounds, without any reference to the exchange rate at all.

 

[PowerUser]

Now that you put it this way it does ring a bell. I've always wondered why
Amazon UK appears to be so expensive.

But then maybe you guys earn accordingly as well, leading to parity in
spending power.

 

[Martin C]

Now that you put it this way it does ring a bell. I've always wondered
why Amazon UK appears to be so expensive.

But then maybe you guys earn accordingly as well, leading to parity in
spending power.

I wish! You really believe that we earn twice as much as an American for an
equivalent job?

No, it is a pure stomping on the Brits (and other European countries). If
Britain provided something that the US needed and did the same to them, they
would be up in arms and cause all sorts of political pressure to rectify the
issue.

Unfortunately, it is not worth us trying as the US would pay no attention
anyway.