Apple UK TAX price

[Laurielol88]

Hi there. I could be completely wrong but isn't the UK VAT 20%? I was looking at the 2011 iMac before they took it off the site and the base model was £999. Now by my calculation the price without tax should be £799.20?? Shouldn't it?? however apples price was £832.

Perhaps there's a different VAT on electrical good or something but if so could someone please confirm?? I'm thinking of purchasing through my company which will save me the tax. Ok it's only £30 but I'm now thinking of getting a top spec one which will be significantly more.

That's for reading and I'm sorry if I'm being thick!!

Laurielol

 

[icecoldart]

I may be wrong but the VAT in EU is 23% for most goods.
We pay way more for apple products than guys in U.S or Canada.

Fo example here in Poland the cost of a base model 21'' iMac is equivalent to the price of low end 27'' iMac in US or Canada......

 

[theSeb]

Hi there. I could be completely wrong but isn't the UK VAT 20%? I was looking at the 2011 iMac before they took it off the site and the base model was £999. Now by my calculation the price without tax should be £799.20?? Shouldn't it?? however apples price was £832.

Perhaps there's a different VAT on electrical good or something but if so could someone please confirm?? I'm thinking of purchasing through my company which will save me the tax. Ok it's only £30 but I'm now thinking of getting a top spec one which will be significantly more.

That's for reading and I'm sorry if I'm being thick!!

Laurielol

Your arithmetic has let you down. To calculate the price without VAT (and this applies to all percentage calculations like these) you need to do the following:

z is the price without VAT
y is the price with VAT

z is 100%
y is 120%

We know that y = £999

Therefore we have

z 100
999 120

Now you need do a cross multiplication

120 * z = 100 * 999

therefore

z = (100 * 999) / 120

z = 832.50

So Apple's prices are correct.

----------

I may be wrong but the VAT in EU is 23% for most goods.
We pay way more for apple products than guys in U.S or Canada.

Fo example here in Poland the cost of a base model 21'' iMac is equivalent to the price of low end 27'' iMac in US or Canada......

We're talking about the UK. VAT is 20%. The OP's calculations are incorrect.

 

[CASLondon]

Hi there. I could be completely wrong but isn't the UK VAT 20%? I was looking at the 2011 iMac before they took it off the site and the base model was £999. Now by my calculation the price without tax should be £799.20?? Shouldn't it?? however apples price was £832.

Perhaps there's a different VAT on electrical good or something but if so could someone please confirm?? I'm thinking of purchasing through my company which will save me the tax. Ok it's only £30 but I'm now thinking of getting a top spec one which will be significantly more.

That's for reading and I'm sorry if I'm being thick!!

Laurielol

Its supposed to be 20%. Take the base price of 832 and multiply that by the vat rate of 20 percent, 166, add them up.....

You are starting with the item plus vat, then going backwards, giving you the error. You have to start with base price, 20 percent of that number, up.

 

[Laurielol88]

Thanks all. Makes sense now!! Dipstick!!

 

[myuserid08]

Your arithmetic has let you down. To calculate the price without VAT (and this applies to all percentage calculations like these) you need to do the following:

z is the price without VAT
y is the price with VAT

z is 100%
y is 120%

We know that y = £999

Therefore we have

z 100
999 120

Now you need do a cross multiplication

120 * z = 100 * 999

therefore

z = (100 * 999) / 120

z = 832.50

So Apple's prices are correct.

----------



We're talking about the UK. VAT is 20%. The OP's calculations are incorrect.

Talk about over complicating matters!

£999 divided by 1.20 (UK VAT) = £832.50

 

[chris1987]

As a freelancer i'm glad i get expenses (such as iMac's) tax free \o/

 

[theSeb]

Talk about over complicating matters!

£999 divided by 1.20 (UK VAT) = £832.50

How is it complicating things to understand how to get the figure you've just shown? My explanation is the same thing as the simplified answer you've just posted, except I took the time to explain how to do it from first principles.

You've just added another step to change

z = (100 * 999) / 120

to

z = 999 / 1.20

I would argue that you're the one complicating it.