How much does a 60 dollar game actually cost in the US?

[anveena]

The sales tax in my state is 6%.

[Hinastorm]

A 25% sales tax? That is literally theft. People keep talking about how great Scandinavian countries are, yet they pay 25% sales tax on video games? Lol.

Yet these countries consistently rate among the highest populations in overall happiness and wellbeing.

Big government helps the majority.

[Fencers]

I'd pay 100$ a game with tax if it meant we could have free health care in the US.

But I guess games usually comes out to around $64 and generational debt.

At least I have the freedom to play Assassin's Creed 15: Depression Hobo.

[bbr]

A 25% sales tax? That is literally theft. People keep talking about how great Scandinavian countries are, yet they pay 25% sales tax on video games? Lol.

21% here in the netherlands.
but it's included in the price, not ""handled after"", so that 60$ game is probably a 60 euro game :P

[endorus]

How does this work with digital services are you taxed based on the state you're in or where the company is from? e.g. a wow sub do you pay a fixed fee including tax or a rate + variable state tax.

We pay 20% VAT (value added tax) in the UK for games. We have 4 levels of VAT, 20, 5, 0, exempt.

Hard to compare "$60" dollar game as it might be a different rate across countries e.g. wow sub costs £9.99 per month in the UK but 10.99EUR (=£9.57) so it's cheaper in euros.

For us as consumers we usually pay the marked price so £60 would be £60 unless stated it is ex VAT.

[Merie]

A 25% sales tax? That is literally theft. People keep talking about how great Scandinavian countries are, yet they pay 25% sales tax on video games? Lol.

That includes their healthcare costs.

[Vespian]

A 25% sales tax? That is literally theft. People keep talking about how great Scandinavian countries are, yet they pay 25% sales tax on video games? Lol.

What do you think pays for all the social support structures? You think printing extra money equates to having more value? Be prepared for inflation if America ever decides to go balls to the wall socialist, because it's going to hurt. (That said, with all the extra covid money, I'm surprised America isn't in an economic crisis right now).

21% here in the netherlands.
but it's included in the price, not ""handled after"", so that 60$ game is probably a 60 euro game :P

Which is still 71.80 USD.

[Rageadon]

In America (and sadly Canada..) products show their price, and then when you got it buy the items, suddenly they add the tax after. So it's a bit of a "surprise!" It's annoying, a lot of shops here used to have tax already added on the price of things, but tourists would complain about high prices compared to other places! Without understanding the tax was already calculated.
So they dropped it... Yeah it blows.

oof, that sucks, here in norway its in the final price, ofc some games tend to cost more than 60 dollars, but thats cuz the tax is already in it :l

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yeah and some of those countries have free healthcare,free education,free transportation,payed leave time,good retirement plans,parental payed time off even for fathers etc etc

its funny how much you can get done with just a tiny extra tax,and wile not spending on the military more than the rest of the world combined.

and these countries are TINY,and they produce much less than usa,i cant even begin to imagine what the usa could do if they cut down on military and police spending even by a fraction....fun fact,usa spends on POLICE more than any of the countries under the next 4 or so do on their military,and for some miracle those places dont even have mass shooting somehow....

here in norway
its 25% tax on general goods like games, electronics etc
15 % on food
and 12% on transportation, cinema and restaurants etc

+ income tax, i got like 36%

its a new road ? well, you gotta pay! every new road has toll palaza on them, and they stay till the road is paid back (to the goverment ofc), it can range from 2dollars to 10, ive seen as much as 80 dollars for a truck to cross a bridge!
and if you want a new car from the store, you got taxes on that one too, take a ford mustang, its 30k in Sweden, in Norway its 100k, thats one of the reasons its so many tesla's here too, they're "cheap" the cheapest is 50k or something, if it was taxed it would be over 100k, but that will soon change, they did it so people would buy the cars cuz they're much more friendlier to the environment... they said the same about diesel cars some years back, once people bought enough they implemented a lot of taxes on them too

free healthcare sucks, if i call my doctor it takes 2 weeks before i get an appointment, had a bad knee and it took 6 months before i got some specialist to look at it...
ofc i see the good side with it too, but at the end of the day, it comes with a price

its only free education from elementary til high school(?) im not sure how the Norwegian school system is to the American one, but you do get some leway if you pass the classes you take, but we do have a similar problem that a lot of people take a high education and it not a demand for it, so you get people with a master working in the grocery store sadly

but i do wish we spendt more money on the military cuz atm its a joke, kinda always been, when the nazis came in ww2, we had 3 bullets per soldier and they only had bikes! ofc its a lot better now compared to then, but it could be a lot better

they might say its free, but it really is not xd

[Vilendor]

yeah and some of those countries have free healthcare,free education,free transportation,payed leave time,good retirement plans,parental payed time off even for fathers etc etc

its funny how much you can get done with just a tiny extra tax,and wile not spending on the military more than the rest of the world combined.

and these countries are TINY,and they produce much less than usa,i cant even begin to imagine what the usa could do if they cut down on military and police spending even by a fraction....fun fact,usa spends on POLICE more than any of the countries under the next 4 or so do on their military,and for some miracle those places dont even have mass shooting somehow....

That's some Bernie Sanders level dumb bullshit. That "tiny extra tax" is 4 times more as yours. Also that's just sales tax. When will you socialist learn, that there is no such a thing as FREE? 52% of my monthly pay chack automaticly goes to the government to pay for all those "free" stuff. I would like to see your face when you take home 48% of your wage. And then you spend 25% tax on EVERYTHING on top of that

[deenman]

That's some Bernie Sanders level dumb bullshit. That "tiny extra tax" is 4 times more as yours. Also that's just sales tax. When will you socialist learn, that there is no such a thing as FREE? 52% of my monthly pay chack automaticly goes to the government to pay for all those "free" stuff. I would like to see your face when you take home 48% of your wage. And then you spend 25% tax on EVERYTHING on top of that

i guess its a miracle that the rest of the first world somehow has survived outside of usa!!! with less crime....higher education levels....much higher happiness index....safety etc etc....hmmm maybe...just maybe....it works

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oof, that sucks, here in norway its in the final price, ofc some games tend to cost more than 60 dollars, but thats cuz the tax is already in it :l

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here in norway
its 25% tax on general goods like games, electronics etc
15 % on food
and 12% on transportation, cinema and restaurants etc

+ income tax, i got like 36%

its a new road ? well, you gotta pay! every new road has toll palaza on them, and they stay till the road is paid back (to the goverment ofc), it can range from 2dollars to 10, ive seen as much as 80 dollars for a truck to cross a bridge!
and if you want a new car from the store, you got taxes on that one too, take a ford mustang, its 30k in Sweden, in Norway its 100k, thats one of the reasons its so many tesla's here too, they're "cheap" the cheapest is 50k or something, if it was taxed it would be over 100k, but that will soon change, they did it so people would buy the cars cuz they're much more friendlier to the environment... they said the same about diesel cars some years back, once people bought enough they implemented a lot of taxes on them too

free healthcare sucks, if i call my doctor it takes 2 weeks before i get an appointment, had a bad knee and it took 6 months before i got some specialist to look at it...
ofc i see the good side with it too, but at the end of the day, it comes with a price

its only free education from elementary til high school(?) im not sure how the Norwegian school system is to the American one, but you do get some leway if you pass the classes you take, but we do have a similar problem that a lot of people take a high education and it not a demand for it, so you get people with a master working in the grocery store sadly

but i do wish we spendt more money on the military cuz atm its a joke, kinda always been, when the nazis came in ww2, we had 3 bullets per soldier and they only had bikes! ofc its a lot better now compared to then, but it could be a lot better

they might say its free, but it really is not xd

bullshit with your doctor stuff,there is no way you wait half a year to have an issue like that taken care of,your just boldface lying now,i have been to the doctor plenty of times to have issues checked out and i never had to wait more than a few days for an appointment,the only time you have to wait longer for stuff is when there literaly is some kind of supply issue like organ transplants

and your education argument is pure bullshit,so what if people with masters go working in a grocery store?thats a completly different issue,they didnt go bankrupt getting that education,or if they had a serious illness

in usa 200.000 people die every year from preventable issues

when you dont die from preventable issues,go bankrupts for an education or medical issue,and get so many benefits by just being smart with where your taxes go...is is free,in usa it would literaly be free if they just cut police or military budget by an insignificant ammount

[Nerph-]

i guess its a miracle that the rest of the first world somehow has survived outside of usa!!! with less crime....higher education levels....much higher happiness index....safety etc etc....hmmm maybe...just maybe....it works

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bullshit with your doctor stuff,there is no way you wait half a year to have an issue like that taken care of,your just boldface lying now,i have been to the doctor plenty of times to have issues checked out and i never had to wait more than a few days for an appointment,the only time you have to wait longer for stuff is when there literaly is some kind of supply issue like organ transplants

and your education argument is pure bullshit,so what if people with masters go working in a grocery store?thats a completly different issue,they didnt go bankrupt getting that education,or if they had a serious illness

in usa 200.000 people die every year from preventable issues

when you dont die from preventable issues,go bankrupts for an education or medical issue,and get so many benefits by just being smart with where your taxes go...is is free,in usa it would literaly be free if they just cut police or military budget by an insignificant ammount

I wouldn't bother trying to argue with them, they are blind to how it can be better than what they are used to. Finland has 22% VAT and I do believe it was classified as the happiest country in the world.

21% here and I personally have a low income. Last time I wanted to go study at University, it cost 220 euros / year, but that was completely covered by the government grant I was issued because of my low income.

Last time I was in hospital for a colonoscopy (intestinal cancer runs in the family so I'm checked every 5 years), my bill came to ~25 euros.

I can't imagine living in a place where you have to fork out thousands for education or routine healthcare.

[Spikeychris]

Nordic countries have notoriously high tax rates compared to North America. We don't really have super duper crazy taxes on anything but gas (and some tiers of income).

In the UK VAT is 20%. That said be very careful when you compare tax rates between different countries because there are taxes that exist in one country that don't exist in another. For example my take home pay in the UK and the US are functionally equivalent +- $500 depending on state. But then VAT is higher than most sales tax. Overall though I get a significantly better healthcare system (which is free at point of use), Free university education (in Scotland) etc.

Scandanavian countries have higher tax rates compared to us but they also get significantly more stuff and better stuff for what they pay as well as a better safety net.

[Draknalor186]

25% tax is mindblowing to me

Having to pay for school lunch or healthcare is mindblowing to me.

[Azerate]

It's crazy how we think we all live in this global world and yet you learn such crazy things by pure accident after years of being on the internet. Both in Europe as a whole and my country (Poland) taxes are already rolled into the price. Never knew it could work any other way. Publishers/sellers adjust prices of games so that the customer pays 60.

This kind of reminds me of that moment like 1-2 years ago when I learned that there are actually people who wipe their asses without standing up from the toilet. And it's apparently 50% of the population as well.

A 25% sales tax? That is literally theft. People keep talking about how great Scandinavian countries are, yet they pay 25% sales tax on video games? Lol.

They are great, precisely because of high taxation, which allows to fund public stuff which is then freely available to people. High taxes are not a bad thing. They are the method of making sure everyone in the society is getting access to high quality government funded services. In the US the taxes may be low, but on the other hand you have people dying on the streets because they can't afford healthcare, which is freely available in those countries with "theft" as taxes. I'd much rather pay 10% more tax and have free university and healthcare in case I need it.

[Zyky]

Wow, only 6,23% tax on video games? Here in Sweden we have 25% on video games...

Yes but in Sweden your taxes actually go back to you in ways that actually effect you, like a universal healthcare system. In the US our tax money goes to nothing that helps us 99% of the time. It was literally like pulling teeth for anything covid relief related. I'd gladly pay more in taxes if it meant the government was going to treat the taxpayers properly.

[Spikeychris]

Yes but in Sweden your taxes actually go back to you in ways that actually effect you, like a universal healthcare system. In the US our tax money goes to nothing that helps us 99% of the time. It was literally like pulling teeth for anything covid relief related. I'd gladly pay more in taxes if it meant the government was going to treat the taxpayers properly.

Thing is the US could have a universal healthcare system it just chooses not to. The US spends more public money per person on healthcare than the UK does but the UK is free at point of use and the US you get to pay again with insurance (so are essentially paying multiple times for it).

[Zyky]

Thing is the US could have a universal healthcare system it just chooses not to. The US spends more public money per person on healthcare than the UK does but the UK is free at point of use and the US you get to pay again with insurance (so are essentially paying multiple times for it).

The reality is most of the US' tax money doesn't help the general public and whenever the general public needs help, the government tells you to fuck off if you're not big business lining the politicians pockets. They bailed out banks in 2 weeks many years ago, but it's been over a year and the general public has yet to receive adequate covid relief. Our government is corrupt, period.

[GreenJesus]

It's crazy how we think we all live in this global world and yet you learn such crazy things by pure accident after years of being on the internet. Both in Europe as a whole and my country (Poland) taxes are already rolled into the price. Never knew it could work any other way. Publishers/sellers adjust prices of games so that the customer pays 60.

This kind of reminds me of that moment like 1-2 years ago when I learned that there are actually people who wipe their asses without standing up from the toilet. And it's apparently 50% of the population as well.



They are great, precisely because of high taxation, which allows to fund public stuff which is then freely available to people. High taxes are not a bad thing. They are the method of making sure everyone in the society is getting access to high quality government funded services. In the US the taxes may be low, but on the other hand you have people dying on the streets because they can't afford healthcare, which is freely available in those countries with "theft" as taxes. I'd much rather pay 10% more tax and have free university and healthcare in case I need it.

Sales taxes are bad because they effect the lower classes worse since a larger share of their income is used on expenses. At least income taxes are bracketed. Sales tax doesn't care how little you earn. Everyone pays it. That is why I consider sales tax that high as theft. It just increases the cost of all goods.

[Reinaerd]

Sales taxes are bad because they effect the lower classes worse since a larger share of their income is used on expenses. At least income taxes are bracketed. Sales tax doesn't care how little you earn. Everyone pays it. That is why I consider sales tax that high as theft. It just increases the cost of all goods.

Those taxes are used for social housing, benefits for people with lower income, the elderly, single parents etc etc.
Hence why we are called "Socialists" cause we social af.

[GreenJesus]

Those taxes are used for social housing, benefits for people with lower income, the elderly, single parents etc etc.
Hence why we are called "Socialists" cause we social af.

To me it just looks like it hurts the middle class to have such high sales taxes.