add up what you pay for state, city and federal tax, social security, sales tax, tolls, health care and college, then tell me how much better we have it.
What rubbish... You can go up north and get a house for ?70,000, which would barely get you a parking space in London. Don't make out the whole country pays London prices. The whole south is expensive because that's where all the people working in London work. It's simple economics.
@neuropsychguy: extra points because george harrison wrote those lyrics after being in a spiritual retreat in india, supposedly to free his mind of materialistic woes.First thing he does? A music called "Taxman". Class.
"You make £100k self employed in this country, you're lucky if you've got £30k left over post tax."Well I work in tax and I've worked out that you'd be left with £65214 after all income tax and national insurance has been taken off your profit of £100,000. I have no idea how you are coming to your figure.
It is completely possible to collect a British pension and an Australian pension, at least while living in Australia. There is no tax payable on the British pension and it does not affect the means-test for the Australian pension.
no it is not as simple as just converting currency. there are other contributing factors. Standard of living difference in tax, shipping costs etc.But when u work it all out, the cost of producing the console is the same as they are all made in the same factory in malaysia. Shipping costs to the UK are cheaper as it is traveling half the distance. If you take of the sales tax from the UK, u get a price off £351 (compared to the US price of £200) so you are trying to tell me that the cost of displaying a product in the store costs: £151???If that is the case how come all of the online UK retailers are selling for £425. This is not just economic, but is blatantly Sony aretifically inflating the price.Also standard of living and minimum wage have been, mentioned. Not that this has anything to do with the price of a PS3 or any product. But in the US the minimum wage might be lower, but the money goes further. So a $30 an hour job in the US, is paid better than a £60 an hour job in the UK, as the $30 buy's twice as much in the us as £60 does in the uk. So based on this logic, the PS3 should cost £150 i.e. half the us price (without converting currency)I have worked in the UK and the US, and US wages are pretty much comparable in a lot of industries (i.e. a $30 an hour job in the US is generally paid £30 in the UK).This is not just true with the PS3 but with most products (cars, houses, DVD's, TV's etc), companies have been allowed to get away with it, so blatently rip of the UK, because the governing bodies, will not do anything about it and the public just bend over and accept the price.
no it is not as simple as just converting currency. there are other contributing factors. Difference in tax, shipping costs etc.But when u work it all out, the cost of producing the console is the same as they are all made in the same factory in malaysia. Shipping costs to the UK are cheaper as it is traveling half the distance. If you take of the sales tax from the UK, u get a price off £351 (compared to the US price of £200) so you are trying to tell me that the cost of displaying a product in the store costs: £151???If that is the case how come all of the online UK retailers are selling for £425. This is not just economic, but is blatantly Sony artifically inflating the price.Also standard of living and minimum wage have been, mentioned. (Not that this has anything to do with the price of a PS3 or any product). But in the US the minimum wage might be lower, but the money goes further. So a $30 an hour job in the US, is paid better than a £60 an hour job in the UK, as the $30 buy's twice as much in the us as £60 does in the uk. So based on this logic, the PS3 should cost £150 i.e. half the us price (without converting currency)I have worked in the UK and the US, and US wages are pretty much comparable in a lot of industries (i.e. a $30 an hour job in the US is generally paid £30 in the UK).This is not just true with the PS3 but with most products (cars, houses, DVD's, TV's etc), companies have been allowed to get away with it, so blatently rip of the UK, because the governing bodies, will not do anything about it and the public just bend over and accept the price.
that doesn't make sense, if the difference in price was because of the US currency loosing value the PS3 in the US would be drastically higher than the UK not the other way around.The rest of ur post is valid, the US has been in recession for 5+ year, the people know it the government just will not admit it and do anything about it (hence the recent Mortgage fiasco)
triplehelixJan 27, 2007
add up what you pay for state, city and federal tax, social security, sales tax, tolls, health care and college, then tell me how much better we have it.
tizz66Jan 27, 2007
What rubbish... You can go up north and get a house for ?70,000, which would barely get you a parking space in London. Don't make out the whole country pays London prices. The whole south is expensive because that's where all the people working in London work. It's simple economics.
diggtatorshipJan 27, 2007
"What would that get me in the US?"4-5 bedrooms, 3-4 bathrooms, 2 stories, 3500-4000 sq ft, on 1-2 acres of land
hopper99Jan 27, 2007
Type turn swindle
axiomshellJan 27, 2007
@neuropsychguy: extra points because george harrison wrote those lyrics after being in a spiritual retreat in india, supposedly to free his mind of materialistic woes.First thing he does? A music called "Taxman". Class.
ica__Jan 27, 2007
"You make £100k self employed in this country, you're lucky if you've got £30k left over post tax."Well I work in tax and I've worked out that you'd be left with £65214 after all income tax and national insurance has been taken off your profit of £100,000. I have no idea how you are coming to your figure.
Closed AccountJan 27, 2007
Sorry to abuse the comment system, but I feel that many people making comments here would benefit from reading the following: <a class="user" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_%28PPP%29_per_capita">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_%28PPP%29_per_capita</a>Some believe that people in the UK earn almost twice as much as those in the US - by looking here we can really compare the two countries.
spooqJan 29, 2007
It is completely possible to collect a British pension and an Australian pension, at least while living in Australia. There is no tax payable on the British pension and it does not affect the means-test for the Australian pension.
thelestatOct 6, 2007
no it is not as simple as just converting currency. there are other contributing factors. Standard of living difference in tax, shipping costs etc.But when u work it all out, the cost of producing the console is the same as they are all made in the same factory in malaysia. Shipping costs to the UK are cheaper as it is traveling half the distance. If you take of the sales tax from the UK, u get a price off £351 (compared to the US price of £200) so you are trying to tell me that the cost of displaying a product in the store costs: £151???If that is the case how come all of the online UK retailers are selling for £425. This is not just economic, but is blatantly Sony aretifically inflating the price.Also standard of living and minimum wage have been, mentioned. Not that this has anything to do with the price of a PS3 or any product. But in the US the minimum wage might be lower, but the money goes further. So a $30 an hour job in the US, is paid better than a £60 an hour job in the UK, as the $30 buy's twice as much in the us as £60 does in the uk. So based on this logic, the PS3 should cost £150 i.e. half the us price (without converting currency)I have worked in the UK and the US, and US wages are pretty much comparable in a lot of industries (i.e. a $30 an hour job in the US is generally paid £30 in the UK).This is not just true with the PS3 but with most products (cars, houses, DVD's, TV's etc), companies have been allowed to get away with it, so blatently rip of the UK, because the governing bodies, will not do anything about it and the public just bend over and accept the price.
thelestatOct 6, 2007
no it is not as simple as just converting currency. there are other contributing factors. Difference in tax, shipping costs etc.But when u work it all out, the cost of producing the console is the same as they are all made in the same factory in malaysia. Shipping costs to the UK are cheaper as it is traveling half the distance. If you take of the sales tax from the UK, u get a price off £351 (compared to the US price of £200) so you are trying to tell me that the cost of displaying a product in the store costs: £151???If that is the case how come all of the online UK retailers are selling for £425. This is not just economic, but is blatantly Sony artifically inflating the price.Also standard of living and minimum wage have been, mentioned. (Not that this has anything to do with the price of a PS3 or any product). But in the US the minimum wage might be lower, but the money goes further. So a $30 an hour job in the US, is paid better than a £60 an hour job in the UK, as the $30 buy's twice as much in the us as £60 does in the uk. So based on this logic, the PS3 should cost £150 i.e. half the us price (without converting currency)I have worked in the UK and the US, and US wages are pretty much comparable in a lot of industries (i.e. a $30 an hour job in the US is generally paid £30 in the UK).This is not just true with the PS3 but with most products (cars, houses, DVD's, TV's etc), companies have been allowed to get away with it, so blatently rip of the UK, because the governing bodies, will not do anything about it and the public just bend over and accept the price.
thelestatOct 6, 2007
that doesn't make sense, if the difference in price was because of the US currency loosing value the PS3 in the US would be drastically higher than the UK not the other way around.The rest of ur post is valid, the US has been in recession for 5+ year, the people know it the government just will not admit it and do anything about it (hence the recent Mortgage fiasco)