[CUBE] ACC Files-iTunes Store (OT)

[Erik Ableson]

It's a logistical and legal problem.  The US has the advantage of being 
a relatively homogenous market, legislatively speaking.  The problems 
you run into in Europe is that each country has it's own tax and 
copyright laws which aren't all necessarily in accord.  Then there's 
the logistics of ensuring that purchasers from one country pay the 
appropriate taxes, and that Apple has a means to report on these sales 
to each individual government and remit the taxes collected 
appropriately.

That's just the gov't side, and then there's all of the issues about 
dealing with the labels.

.mac works fine since it's just an online service, there's no direct 
implications, other than the new push by the EU to collect taxes on all 
internet transactions made by their citizens.

Most countries have their own Apple store, properly integrated with 
pricing in local currency and following the local tax laws (ie french 
prices are listed TTC which is all taxes included) while US ones are 
usually taxed afterwards by state for sales taxes.  Delivery and stock 
is held locally as part of their overall distribution network.

iTunes for Windows presented only technical problems - much easier to 
resolve...

Cheers,

Erik
On Thursday, December 11, 2003, at 10:43AM, Rod Clifford 
<rod at eslickdesign.com> wrote:

> Really? Apple has not opened the iTunes store yet?
> Geez, the US windoze people are more impotant I suppose.
> To clarify Apple products in Europe:
> Can you access mac.com? Also, the Apple store? Suppose shipping would
> be the killer on
> purchasing products & shipping to Europe though.
> Sorry to be straying off like this but, it's interesting to know.   Rod