Things in Russia they are not at all easy. Because of the many uncertainties, the local currency is plummeting! We have already talked about this a little, including that Apple closed its online store in the country (momentarily) due to this sharp drop in the prices of all products, most likely to suffer increases. Now, Ma had to take a new approach: increase app prices and in-app purchases.
Applications that previously cost 33 rubles (equivalent to $ 0.99) are now priced at 62 rubles, almost double. In the App Store, however, everything is done quickly, without the need to take the store down. Here is the table with the new values:
While reviewing prices in Russia, Apple reminded customers european developers that, as of January 1, 2015, the app pricing policy on the continent will also be revised.
Currently consumers pay the same VAT (value-added tax, something like our ICMS, which means tax on the circulation of goods and services) throughout the European territory, regardless of the store used (French, German, English, etc.). From 2015, however, VAT will vary according to each country. This is because a new law was announced to end just a loophole that allowed Ma to sell app downloads across countries with lower VAT.
In short, the English App Store, for example, should have a 20% VAT, but as the servers are in countries like Luxembourg, the VAT is charged only 3%. Now, it doesn't matter where the apps come from: taxes should be charged according to where the consumer is.
It remains to be seen whether developers will pass this adjustment on to consumers or whether they will absorb this cost further. It is also unclear whether other content such as films, books and music will undergo the same readjustment, but everything indicates that it will.
(via iClarified, AppleInsider)
