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I was interested to pick when I saw the price in USD..

Then I realized the starting price in Italy for the 8GB version is 1829 euros, and more than 2100 to get 8 GBs of memory more.

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Totally agree. The new Air to my mind is decent value at $1199.

But that then becomes 1499 EUR in Germany, for... some reason. And then you see that the entry level model is specced low, and to get a reasonable 16GB memory and 512GB SSD bumps it up to 1959 EUR, which is a very different level of purchase, and also most of the way to the cost of a comparable 14" M1 MacBook Pro.

"Some reason"? Isn't it pretty obviously taxes?

A tax 20% or more on a computer?

The standard VAT rate in Germany is 19%, so that's not that far off the mark, assuming they include VAT in their pricing.

1199 USD to EUR = 1147 EUR Germany has a 19% VAT so 1147*1.19=1397.06

Still a gap of slightly more than 100€.

It's the 20% VAT.

Wow, the euro is just about at parity with the dollar recently. That's a big markup.

Import taxes/customs.

The VAT too (at least in Germany).

All of Europe (or at least the EU) has VAT.

I've only lived in Germany, and while I was doing so, I went back to the States to buy an iPhone to save $600 USD at the time between the German and American prices.

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