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iTMS Canada Dec. 1 [NOW OPEN]

Laurent said:
I would love it if retail stores were forced to display the price including all taxes (like in France), but unfortunately, that's not the case...
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TELL me about it... in NZ (where i lived for 5 years) they include tax in displayed pricing. they also got rid of pennies, so round up or down to the nearest 5 cents. brilliance!

Laurent said:
Concerning Starbuck (or McDonald's for that matter), it may come from an american habit/law, or simply the fact that they don't want any trouble...
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i also worked at starbucks (in NZ where tax is included) and on their menu boards the message is "prices include applicable taxes," so i believe they do adjust. :)
 
stcanard said:
Absolutely not!

If it was included in the shelf price, people would start to forget they were paying the tax, and it would be too easy for the government to sneak in increases without the public noticing.

Better to make sure people are always aware that the price they are paying is higher than the actual price of the goods or services.
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in my experience (NZ), taxes are always shown in your sales receipt to prevent exactly this.
 
stcanard said:
Absolutely not!

If it was included in the shelf price, people would start to forget they were paying the tax, and it would be too easy for the government to sneak in increases without the public noticing.

Better to make sure people are always aware that the price they are paying is higher than the actual price of the goods or services.
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Calm down... They have both prices, without tax and TTC (toutes taxes comprises)...

Cudos for New Zelland that includes taxes...
 
Laurent said:
Calm down... They have both prices, without tax and TTC (toutes taxes comprises)...

Cudos for New Zelland that includes taxes...
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If it's actually displayed on the price sticker, that's fine.

If it's in the sales receipt, it's hidden. The vast majority of people never read those receipts in enough detail.

It's just like when the GST replaced the old Federal tax. It was interesting that although a 15% tax was taken off the manufacturers, I didn't see a single item actually reduce in price by 15%. Since the public didn't know they were paying it, the manufacturers felt no need to pass the saving on.
 
That said, while philosophically hidden taxes bother me, I can't deny I like the convenience of being charged what I'm told I'm being charged on something like iTunes.

I notice my purchase history says "Credit Card Total: $11.99" on my $11.99 purchase, so I am assuming that means the tax is included. If they make a statement like that, then charge $11.99+taxes to my card, I would definitely feel misled.
 
When I visited the USA I couldn't believe it when tax was not included in various items. It was simply annoying to the point of infuriating.

Being a UK citizen, I'm used to EVERYTHING including tax, from crisps to cars. Things that don't include tax here are usually regarded as a cheat to make things seem cheaper than they really are.

NB. Tax here is 17.5% - huge you may think for just a single tax, known as VAT. But remember, we do earn a truckload of cash, the average earnings per person being around about $40,000 the last time I checked; University students on average actually start at that amount!



Rich::
 
stcanard said:
If it's actually displayed on the price sticker, that's fine.

If it's in the sales receipt, it's hidden. The vast majority of people never read those receipts in enough detail.

It's just like when the GST replaced the old Federal tax. It was interesting that although a 15% tax was taken off the manufacturers, I didn't see a single item actually reduce in price by 15%. Since the public didn't know they were paying it, the manufacturers felt no need to pass the saving on.
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I disagree. It would be easier NOT to buy a certain product (a PS2 tagged at 179.99$ seems cheaper than a PS2 tagged at 207.03$, even though the buyer will end up paying 207.03$ anyway).

People that don't read their receits, that don't check there monthly bank transactions for errors, that don't know how much their bank charges for XX Interac transactions... Do we need to explain to them how to not get screwed?
 
Payment for Products. You agree to pay for all Products you purchase through the Service, and that iTunes may charge your payment card for any Products purchased, and for any additional amounts (including any taxes and late fees, as applicable) as may be accrued by or in connection with your Account.
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Source: http://www.apple.com/ca/support/itunes/legal/terms.html

Now I am confused? And MacCritics says that taxes aren't included in iTMS...

http://www.maccritic.com/print/193_0_13_0_M
 
well i just bought my first album from the Canada itms
actually this is the first time ive ever bough music. online.

my first online album is : Bare Naked Ladies
Play Everything for Everyone : Dallas Texas Live

They are my fav group so i figured i owed them some income
I already have most of the songs in the album. but still!
 
Laurent said:
IPeople that don't read their receits, that don't check there monthly bank transactions for errors, that don't know how much their bank charges for XX Interac transactions... Do we need to explain to them how to not get screwed?
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Nope, but in order to have an effect on the government's behaviour, we do need a majority of people to know what's happening.

An example. Without looking at anything, off the top of your head tell me what % your PST is. Good. Now, without looking anything up tell me what % the "sin tax" on liquor is. Now tell me when was the last time either one of those changed.

I bet you have a far easier time answering those questions for PST, because you knowingly pay it every time.

There was an outcry about two years ago in BC, because the Gov't raised our provincial tax 0.5%. Big enough that for publicity, this year when we got a surplus they rolled it back. That wouldn't have happened if people weren't having to calculate in their heads how much the tax is every time they pick something up.
 
stcanard said:
An example. Without looking at anything, off the top of your head tell me what % your PST is. Good. Now, without looking anything up tell me what % the "sin tax" on liquor is. Now tell me when was the last time either one of those changed.

I bet you have a far easier time answering those questions for PST, because you knowingly pay it every time.
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Well the tax on liquor as been 0.89$/liter ever since I can remember... AFAIK, it is printed on my receipt... Anyway, I get the idea, but I am tired of figuring out what percentage I should add on each and every product I buy, plus how much I should tip a waitress, etc. I always end up paying nearly twice the price of my drink!
 
Laurent said:
Anyway, I get the idea, but I am tired of figuring out what percentage I should add on each and every product I buy, plus how much I should tip a waitress, etc. I always end up paying nearly twice the price of my drink!
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I agree entirely :)

Back on topic, I'm pretty sure that the tax is included in the 0.99, based on the receipt they gave me on my "order history". Can't see it on my credit card yet.

Does that mean that people in Quebec are getting a better deal than people in Alberta? Or does the line in the terms of service that says "All sales on the iTunes Music Store are governed by the laws of the Province of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada" mean that we are all being charged Ontario sales tax? I'm not sure how provincial taxation for online services works in Canada!
 
Laurent said:
Well the tax on liquor as been 0.89$/liter ever since I can remember... AFAIK, it is printed on my receipt... Anyway, I get the idea, but I am tired of figuring out what percentage I should add on each and every product I buy, plus how much I should tip a waitress, etc. I always end up paying nearly twice the price of my drink!
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i completely agree. i want to know what i'm paying, up front, without having to allow for the taxes that will be added later.

remember how hard it was as a kid to try and calculate how much candy you could buy? the tax always got me and i always ended up having to choose between the popsicle or the nerds ;)
 
autopilot said:
remember how hard it was as a kid to try and calculate how much candy you could buy? the tax always got me and i always ended up having to choose between the popsicle or the nerds ;)
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You can't leve us hanging like this... we have to know which you chose!!!
 
stcanard said:
I agree entirely :)

Back on topic, I'm pretty sure that the tax is included in the 0.99, based on the receipt they gave me on my "order history". Can't see it on my credit card yet.

Does that mean that people in Quebec are getting a better deal than people in Alberta? Or does the line in the terms of service that says "All sales on the iTunes Music Store are governed by the laws of the Province of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada" mean that we are all being charged Ontario sales tax? I'm not sure how provincial taxation for online services works in Canada!
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Where is that line? In Canada (same thing in U.S.A. for that matter, concerning state taxes), you can't be charged provincial taxes if you don't live in that particular province. If your billing adress is Vancouver will be charged PST of British Columbia.

After reading the iTMS Terms of Service, it seems that iTMS might charge applicable taxes later, on a different transaction. As long as you are aware of this (since you probably read the entire letter before agreeing), there's no problem...
 
Laurent said:
After reading the iTMS Terms of Service, it seems that iTMS might charge applicable taxes later, on a different transaction. As long as you are aware of this (since you probably read the entire letter before agreeing), there's no problem...
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uh oh... would suck to download a bunch of songs and then get all the tax charged as one transaction at the end of the month... :eek:

realistically, though, how do they handle the tax issue in the states? or in the uk? (iTMS)
 
UK prices include all tax, EU law. US does anyone know? It would be useful...
 
adamfilip said:
well i just bought my first album from the Canada itms
actually this is the first time ive ever bough music. online.

my first online album is : Bare Naked Ladies
Play Everything for Everyone : Dallas Texas Live

They are my fav group so i figured i owed them some income
I already have most of the songs in the album. but still!
Click to expand...
Excellent choice!
 
stcanard said:
I agree entirely :)

Back on topic, I'm pretty sure that the tax is included in the 0.99, based on the receipt they gave me on my "order history". Can't see it on my credit card yet.

Does that mean that people in Quebec are getting a better deal than people in Alberta? Or does the line in the terms of service that says "All sales on the iTunes Music Store are governed by the laws of the Province of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada" mean that we are all being charged Ontario sales tax? I'm not sure how provincial taxation for online services works in Canada!
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For on-line transactions (and telephone transactions) in Canada, GST is applied to all purchases, except for purchasers who live in provinces that have HST, in which case this is applied. In addition, if the purchaser lives in a province that has provincial tax, this is also applied.

Don't know yet if these taxes are included in the purchase price or added later with iTunes, but someone is or will be paying them...
 
MacinDoc said:
Don't know yet if these taxes are included in the purchase price or added later with iTunes, but someone is or will be paying them...
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this is exactly what i'm worried about... :confused:
 
stcanard said:
The store is obviously a work in progress.
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Congratulations, you win the prize for understatement of the year... there's tons of obvious stuff missing (they don't even have Three Days Grace) -- seems to be mostly a U.S./etc. collection with Canadian artists only where they overlap. Still, now that it's up I'm sure Apple will devote a fair effort to making their new Canadian customers respect their site :)
 
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