Discount for EU users?

Thing is, it's pretty unimplementable from what I see. For instance, a content creator with a smallish plot and a lot of vendors at non-EU owned lands won't be hit for anything like as much VAT as say a sim owner who relies on land rentals to offset their tier.

It's unfortunate, but No. It amounts to socialism in my opinion. I would not want it done if the situation were reversed and we were hit with a price increase. No one forced us into Second Life, we all can leave if it doesn't suit us.

I dont see what your statement has to do with my quoted statement at all.

You lost me totally.

You can only Godwin when someone mentions a certain historical figure hon. LOL

And yes Sally ... I am glad I am not the only one who finds that uncomfortable. We're meant to be 'Our World Our Imagination' and in my world and my imagination people basically like other human beings. So long as they are not asshats, faceaches or greasy weasels!!!

I think he means that people with a huge investment are, to be blunt, up poo creek without a paddle.

Yeah

But theres not much that can be done about it.

Sounds like LL's attempt to have a presense in the EU becuase of their "global vision" backfired big time.

Instead of opening a Brighton office they should have kept playing the dumb American located in the US and not collected the VAT at all, like the rest of American companies.

Keeping the OT going, while some over emphasize US impact don't under emphasize it either. Both Great Britain and Russia benefitted immensely from US material support, most notably in tanks and early aircraft before they could ramp up their production. Britain repaid this debt, probably several times over, I can't speak for the Russians. Also, US Navy Destroyers were also involved in convoy escorts and neutrailty patrols before the Official entry into the War.

That's funny, Damianos...in the US, the "liberals" are the ones who support higher taxes and more socal services!

The Russians paid with their lives though.

Soviet military deaths were 10 times the combined toll of the US and the UK.

My last comment on it here: yes. And they paid that with a loan from the Poles, the Czechs, the Hungarians, etc...shortly after the War.

*Hurry up Strife........

Thanks Cherry, that is exactly what I meant

Colette, sorry for confusing. I should have pointed out I was reinforcing your view.

To reiterate; a content creator with little land will be charged less than the sim owner, hence vastly different losses to recoup. A single 17.5% added across the board for EU content/services would be grossly unfair even to the EU members.

That's because all the EU residents were hit with an unexpected overnight cost increase varying between 17.5% and 25% depending on their country.
There's nothing like your own money to concentrate the mind. Age play and other people's gambling does not have the same effect as seeing unexpected charges on your own credit card.


It's worth echoing a point made throughout the many threads.
Most of the heat is entirely down to LL's totally inept and arrogant behaviour. Many people (myself included) saw increases slapped on their accounts before the LL email arrived.

As always with LL, they left a huge information vacuum that got filled by questions, venting, misinformation, misunderstandings, flaming, and general negativity.
It's as if they are using us in some perverse research project. "Let's engineer maximum upset, then sit back and see what they do."
Their arrogance is mind-boggling.


LL had to be planning this for months. They first had to plan how they were going to deal with EU law. After having decided that, they had to change their billing software to deal with VAT for EU.
However, the we heard of this was an increase in tier - after the event.

If LL had deliberately set out to implement VAT in a way that would cause the maximum upset, confusion and general screaming fits, they could not possibly have come up with a 'better' way than they way in which they did do it.
The logical outcome of what they did is this gigantic WTF moment for the users.

In the circumstances, the number of VAT threads is a *relatively* muted response



If LL had shown even the slightest common sense and respect for us, they would have explained the legal situation and their intentions in advance.

That's because Europeans use the "classical" formulation of what a "liberal" is. By European standards, the US has two "liberal" parties -- a right liberal and a left liberal, both of which are to the right of the European centre.

The dollar has dropped 25% against the Euro since January, 2003. You got your discount.

As per the Johnny Cash song, we really should keep politics out of SL
Sitting at the safety of their keyboards, people get to feel invincible and untouchable.
Politics never make for constructive dialogue in online fora.



There once was a musical troupe
A pickin' singin' folk group
They sang the mountain ballads
And the folk songs of our land

They were long on musical ability
Folks thought they would go far
But political incompatibility led to their downfall

Well, the one on the right was on the left
And the one in the middle was on the right
And the one on the left was in the middle
And the guy in the rear was a Methodist

This musical aggregation toured the entire nation
Singing the traditional ballads
And the folk songs of our land
They performed with great virtuosity
And soon they were the rage
But political animosity prevailed upon the stage

Well, the one on the right was on the left
And the one in the middle was on the right
And the one on the left was in the middle
And the guy in the rear burned his driver's license

Well the curtain had ascended
A hush fell on the crowd
As thousands there were gathered to hear The folk songs of our land
But they took their politics seriously
And that night at the concert hall
As the audience watched deliriously
They had a free-for-all

Well, the one on the right was on the bottom
And the one in the middle was on the top
And the one on the left got a broken arm
And the guy in the rear, said, "Oh dear"

Now this should be a lesson if you plan to start a folk group
Don't go mixin' politics with the folk songs of our land
Just work on harmony and diction
Play your banjo well
And if you have political convictions keep them to yourself

Now, the one on the left works in a bank
And the one in the middle drives a truck
The one on the right's an all-night deejay
And the guy in the rear got drafted

I agree completely, but at the same time it is hard to discuss these various calls being made for subsidies without getting, to some degree, political.

When you are getting your revenue from SL in L$ converting to US$ and paying island fees in US$ + VAT in US$, what has the exchange rate of the Euro got to do with anything ?

Anything left over after that can be converted from US$ to your Euro bank account, which is currently a bad deal with the current exchange rates.

Hey guys in US. For me as an European I take it easy - I just spend LESS money in SL. Just think a second about that and if all Europeans would do the same (more than 50% of SL users from here). That's all folks.

I pay all of the taxes that my country and state require me to pay, including income tax on SL earnings. I do not expect EU citizens to compensate me to offset those taxes. So why should I compensate EU citizens to offset the taxes they are obligated to pay?