4 ms·

I have seen it discussed but I'm not sure its as clear cut as that.

srgseg 15y ago
The UK HMRC charges no customs duty or import duty on imports of computers, but does levy 20% VAT (sales tax). Using today's exchange rate of 1.6149, here are the UK like-for-like premiums for several Apple products in the UK: 7.6% - ipad 2 13.4% - ipod touch 14.4% - mac air 11 64gb 12.1% - mac air 11 128gb 13.9% - mac air 13 128gb 13.5% - mac air 13 256gb 12.1% - mbp 13 21.1% - thunderbolt display Note: these premiums compare the US price excluding sales tax to the UK price excluding the UK 20% VAT sales tax. Therefore, the UK premium is much larger when you consider that in some US states there is no sales tax, but the entire UK is subject to 20% sales tax. Also note that VAT is only a sales tax on items for personal use. Business users do not have to pay the VAT (they reclaim it). Here therefore are the premiums comparing US states with zero sales tax to the UK: 29.1% - ipad 2 36.1% - ipod touch 37.2% - mac air 11 64gb 34.6% - mac air 11 128gb 36.6% - mac air 13 128gb 36.2% - mac air 13 256gb 34.6% - mbp 13 45.3% - thunderbolt display Lesson: go on holiday to the US, buy your Mac in a state without sales tax, and you're still ahead when you pay 20% tax on the import when you arrive back in the UK.
- colin_jack 15y ago
  I think Apple are actually being far too greedy, one of the reasons I don't buy Macs is the premium you have to pay...I don't like being ripped off quite so explicitly.
  - srgseg 15y ago
    To be fair, it's not just Apple. The UK is known in the industry as "Treasure Island" because they know that they can charge more here and get away with it. E.g. Bose QC15 noise cancelling headphones: 25.2% premium excluding sales tax, 50.2% premium including sales tax comparing a zero sales tax US state to the UK.
    - colin_jack 15y ago
      True, to be honest I had a spell of checking the difference for products before buying them and if it was too high I'd give the product a bad review on Amazon. Felt good :P Out of interest are you aware of a site that does this sort of comparison?
      - srgseg 15y ago
        No but it only takes about 30 seconds in a spreadsheet :)
        colin_jack 15y ago
        Sure but it seems like there should be a site, enter product details and it works out premium being paid in your country.
- robin_reala 15y ago
  The Thunderbolt display is somewhat different - I believe HMRC count displays with digital inputs as 'video displays' instead of 'monitors' and subsequently levy a 14% customs duty: http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageVAT_ShowContent&id=HMCE_PROD_009989&propertyType=document http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPort... That would bring the price hike down to the same level as the computers.

The UK HMRC charges no customs duty or import duty on imports of computers, but does levy 20% VAT (sales tax). Using today's exchange rate of 1.6149, here are the UK like-for-like premiums for several Apple products in the UK: 7.6% - ipad 2 13.4% - ipod touch 14.4% - mac air 11 64gb 12.1% - mac air 11 128gb 13.9% - mac air 13 128gb 13.5% - mac air 13 256gb 12.1% - mbp 13 21.1% - thunderbolt display Note: these premiums compare the US price excluding sales tax to the UK price excluding the UK 20% VAT sales tax. Therefore, the UK premium is much larger when you consider that in some US states there is no sales tax, but the entire UK is subject to 20% sales tax. Also note that VAT is only a sales tax on items for personal use. Business users do not have to pay the VAT (they reclaim it). Here therefore are the premiums comparing US states with zero sales tax to the UK: 29.1% - ipad 2 36.1% - ipod touch 37.2% - mac air 11 64gb 34.6% - mac air 11 128gb 36.6% - mac air 13 128gb 36.2% - mac air 13 256gb 34.6% - mbp 13 45.3% - thunderbolt display Lesson: go on holiday to the US, buy your Mac in a state without sales tax, and you're still ahead when you pay 20% tax on the import when you arrive back in the UK.

colin_jack 15y ago
I think Apple are actually being far too greedy, one of the reasons I don't buy Macs is the premium you have to pay...I don't like being ripped off quite so explicitly.
- srgseg 15y ago
  To be fair, it's not just Apple. The UK is known in the industry as "Treasure Island" because they know that they can charge more here and get away with it. E.g. Bose QC15 noise cancelling headphones: 25.2% premium excluding sales tax, 50.2% premium including sales tax comparing a zero sales tax US state to the UK.
  - colin_jack 15y ago
    True, to be honest I had a spell of checking the difference for products before buying them and if it was too high I'd give the product a bad review on Amazon. Felt good :P Out of interest are you aware of a site that does this sort of comparison?
    - srgseg 15y ago
      No but it only takes about 30 seconds in a spreadsheet :)
      - colin_jack 15y ago
        Sure but it seems like there should be a site, enter product details and it works out premium being paid in your country.
robin_reala 15y ago
The Thunderbolt display is somewhat different - I believe HMRC count displays with digital inputs as 'video displays' instead of 'monitors' and subsequently levy a 14% customs duty: http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageVAT_ShowContent&id=HMCE_PROD_009989&propertyType=document http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPort... That would bring the price hike down to the same level as the computers.