Poll: The "Australian" Tax

[Basement Cat]

Now the keys aren't sticking.

My criminal Australian heritage is telling me that I should pirate the game and stab the people I deem responsible in the eye with a fork.

Tip of the Week: Make sure you get both eyes so they can't pick you out in a criminal line up.

 

[chadachada123]

My friend moved to Australia about three years ago, and commented on the huge disparity in spending cash between there and the United States.

Aussies just have more spending money in general, meaning companies can get away with charging way, way more for video games and software. This is partially related to the minimum wage being way higher there.

Another issue is just that costs are higher for games in the AU but lower for other things, equaling out overall but sucking hard for people that buy lots of games.

At least, according to my American friend living there.

 

[Syzygy23]

Supply and demand guys, econ 101. Since the physical copies cost more, they can charge you more for the same electronic copies as well. Life isn't fair, get used to it.

Life is arbitrary, PEOPLE are unfair.

If you can't talk them into being fair, sometimes a good hard smack upside the head with your palm or a bloody revolution does the trick WHAT? Revolution? Who said that? I didn't say that, someones saying stuff over here!

 

[chadachada123]

the minimum wage there is practically twice what it is here, heck my job pays alot higher than any of my friends jobs and its still a good ways below the minum wage so it seems to me that you have no problems making the extra money to pay for the things there thus maybe why they cost more

The minimum wage in Washington is 25% higher than the federal minimum wage.

Are you saying that residents of this state should have to pay 25% more for their games?

Edit: Wait, how do you get paid BELOW minimum wage? Is there some kind of alternate understanding of the word minimum in the US? Is it not a legal requirement?

SHOULD they pay 25% more? No, of course not.

Can companies get away with charging 25% more? Probably.

Remember that this is capitalism at work. Companies will charge as much as they can, and apparently this means charging more in the AU since they have it to spare and keep paying for it.

 

[ResonanceSD]

"A fair go" eh, cobber? Yeah, fair dinkum mate.

*ahem*

Anyway, it's all because the AU dollar used to be a lot weaker not so very long ago. Companies in Europe and the US charged us more because our money was worth less. When the AU dollar got stronger, game companies continued to charge the old prices because... well, why would they not? If people are buying your product for $90, why on earth would you drop it down to $60?

I believe the term is "fair shake of the sauce bottle"

Anyway, we're not being priced fairly in terms of digital distribution at all.

Or in terms of physical products. The dollar is a shitload stronger than it used to be, the only reason this exists is because Aussies will still pay more. That's all.

Also, games are a luxury product. Wtf are people on minimum wage doing buying them? Surely they've got bigger things to worry about?

 

[scrambledeggs]

Australians earn a lot more on average, and thus things cost more. It's pretty basic economics, really.

 

[Doom-Slayer]

Could they investigate New Zealand as well?? New games on PS3 and Xbox are $110 now. MW3 is like $120 in some places as well..

PS $110NZD is 90USD. YES..IT SUCKS.

 

[I.Muir]

My friend moved to Australia about three years ago, and commented on the huge disparity in spending cash between there and the United States.

Aussies just have more spending money in general, meaning companies can get away with charging way, way more for video games and software. This is partially related to the minimum wage being way higher there.

Another issue is just that costs are higher for games in the AU but lower for other things, equaling out overall but sucking hard for people that buy lots of games.

At least, according to my American friend living there.

What other things?
Seriously I'm pretty sure absolutely everything over here is more expensive than in the states.

Also people do not seem to be accounting for the value of the Australian dollar when it worth half as much when these same prices were around. It is true however that the average Aus wage is 8/5 the amount of the average US person. However everything here is at least twice as expensive, clothes, food, electronics, programs and probably housing too. Not accounting for tax it does look like we're being gouged because they can.