We often talk about “Australia Tax”, but how bad do we really have it? How do the cost of electronics in this country stack up with others around the world?
The Linio Technology Price Index for 2016 breaks it down, and there are some incredible figures here. $97,813.82 for an iPhone7, anyone?
Linio explains how they worked it out:
For 71 countries, we researched average prices of fourteen different popular devices, both iOS and Windows powered. Our list was then ranked by the sum of the total tech price for each country. Doing so, we quickly realised the huge influence of tariffs, taxes, and inflation on price.
The cheapest countries for buying tech were those in the Middle East that, despite relatively high costs of living, levy low VAT (TAX) on consumer products. On the other end of the scale, the most expensive countries for electronics were those like Belarus and Venezuela, where inflation and import restrictions have taken a huge toll on consumer access to the market.
You can see the whole list here, but here are some highlights – the prices are all is US dollars.
The cheapest:
- iPhone7: Angola, $401.94
- PS4: Kuwait, $246.89
- Xbox One: Switzerland, $222.55
- Apple Watch: Russia, $182.00
The most expensive:
- iPhone7: Venezuela, $97,813.82
- PS4: Venezuela, $56,723.53
- Xbox One: Venezuela, $37,073.79
- Apple Watch: Venezuela, $48,810.16
Oh, Venezuela. Ooft.