Discount for EU users?

Would any other users be able and prepared to offer EU users a discount on in-world products to cancel out the VAT they paid on buying their L$?

I know it'll reduce sales income which is never a popular thing, but it might help given the pain they've all suffered on tier fees..

Problem is how will you know? How wil they prove they are EU residents?

How would you suggest we go about discounting only to those EU users?

How verification would work isn't clear yet - I'm asking as a political thing.. if it was possible, would people be prepared to do it? (It isn't going to be worth trying to work out how to do verification if no-one's interested!)

No. If I owned a shop in RL and an EU citizen came to my US shop, I wouldn't give her a discount just because she happens to live in a high tax country. Why should I do it in SL?

Put it another way Yumi. Are you now prepared to pay me 17.5% extra in rent for renting one of my properties?

No.

No.

EU consumers are used to paying VAT. Have higher prices on almost anything than non-EU based people. Our whole economy, disposable income etc. already takes these VAT costs into account. So no, they (we) don't need a discount on stuff.

Eu residents are used on taxes on everything, from extra eco taxation on fuel, health tax on cigarettes and alcohol, recycling taxes on electronics, copyright taxes on recordable cds and dvds road taxes, car taxes, income taxes, wealth taxes, etc. etc.
We're not happy with it, but we're used to it and accept it, as it keeps our countries running.
If too many people are not agreeing with it, they vote for a liberal party, and a liberal government lowers those taxes (cutting social services/health care etc. etc. in the process)

It's not the fact that LL is charging VAT that causes the indignation. It's the fact that this change hasn't been communicated so people could prepare for it.
Also the fact that we didn't pay VAT since the start of SL has probably skewed the whole thing. If SL has been priced including VAT from the start, as any other purchase eu citizens do, we would have just grumbled and accepted it.

The reason the VAT has been added on to Euro patrons is that LL has moved it's billing to the UK - the service is still provided from the US (as your shop would be) - it seems it's OK for LL to bill from one place and then provide the product from 1000's miles away

Make me wonder about all this crap about gambling, which is legal in the UK .. so why can't I do it on SL if I'm paying my EU taxes ??

It seems LL is not an American company one minute and the next it is all depending on their mood is and who they want to screw

A nice post on the blog explaining all this would help but it seems LL have forgotton how to type now

Maybe the Germans should march towards Paris again. I see some patterns

I don't understand why that is needed since there is no VAT added on resident to resident transactions...
And as much as I would like to help, why would I want to pay the taxes for another person or country?
Yes, I feel bad but this is only the fault of their government which in the end they benefit from since the taxes are used to assist citizens of that country...
Maybe we should get a discount from Europeans since their currency is worth double ours?
I would like everything half off now, please and thank you =)

As a European I can see no reason whatsoever why anyone should offer me a discount because of the sales taxes I have to pay.

Should I offer to pay extra to any US-based merchant to help them pay for health insurance?

Just because you get double $ to the £, it doesn't mean Europeans are better off financially. The average wage in the UK and US is around the same, but the cost of living in the UK is nearly double. Look at the average price and size of your houses and compare to the UK, look at every day goods like clothes, petrol and food, far cheaper in the US.

Europeans running a business now in SL are at a disadvantage. We now have to pay more for the land to run our shops on but we have the same customers and need to sell for the same prices.

Like most Europeans, I will now have less left over to spend inworld on others creations. I spent what I make, others will have a total budget of what they can afford to put into the game, whichever it is, there will not be so much left for spending.

I never said you were better off financially, did I? US residents giving the EU residents a discount because they have VAT is no different than US residents asking EU residents to give us everything half off since the currency is different...

EU doesn't reimburse us for currency differences when you guys buy from the US, WHY would we pay YOUR taxes?

I just don't get it...

And again I feel really bad for you guys, but the only ones to blame is YOUR government, unless you are totally happy with them, then what is the problem?

Are you sure about that? Here, the minimum hourly rate is a lot higher than in the US.

At it's highest in Washington (which is more than double that of some states), it is: $7.93, which is roughly £3.88.

Here in the UK it's £5.52, which is roughly $11.26 dollars.

I'd have thought that would translate into a higher average wage for UK workers.

I thought the currency exchange rate took care of that?

When has anyone, *ever* been totally happy with their government?

In a month and three days we in UK actually celebrate how disgruntled we can get!

Sensual, I'm afraid it doesn't quite work like that. For the money you paid for your house in the states, you would probably only be able to purchase a house a fifth the size here in the UK.

I'm seriously amazed at the number of intelligent people who think that just because there are roughly 2$ to every £, people who use £ are somehow better off. Here's another example: Windows Vista Ult (new install) in the states is going to cost someone your side of the pond around U$200-280. In the UK it would cost you about £300, which is US$600.

As for the original post, I don't see why anyone should feel that they should give discounts to members of the EU.

LOL hun.. it was called sarcasm *shakes head*

If an EU customer enters your US shop, you don't give them a discount: you should instead be paid 17% (or 19 or 21 or...) extra because that's what they pay at home. The situation being discussed here is where you walk into a shop in America and then are told "see that little sign there? it means we are in the EU. Pay up".

There's a real-world equivalent: if you order a Logitech mouse over the web in the EU, you pay Irish VAT (19%, as I recall) because that's where Logitech are based. You can't tell them where you live and choose to pay a different rate of VAT - it's a no-choice option.

Yeh, that's what I thought

Well if anyone in the USA wants to profit by the introduction of VAT I now have 16000 sq m going very cheaply in FLAMERIDER region.

Come on buy and take a look folks.


(I should be wearing a ten gallon hat and smoking a cigar really

Lord you're getting annoying..

If anything, most of the EU should be paying US sellers *more* out of gratitude for the fact that they're not speaking German today.

And you should be paying us for the use of our language