Posted by : Unknown
Monday 11 February 2013
Australia Orders Apple, Microsoft, Adobe To Pricing Inquiry
2
Posted hitesh kumawat
Apple Inc has been ordered to appear
before Australia’s parliament with fellow technology giants Microsoft
Inc and Adobe Systems Inc to explain why local consumers pay so much for
their products, despite the strong Aussie dollar.
The House of Representatives launched a
probe in July last year to see if some goods were more expensive in
Australia than in other parts of the world.
Consumer bodies have often complained that Australians are overcharged.
The firms have previously made written
submissions to the committee but have so far declined to appear in
person. They are now scheduled to appear before the committee on 22
March.
Ed Husic, a member of the Australian
House of Representatives, says that some estimates suggest Australian
prices on some products are up to 60 percent higher than in the U.S.
Husic told Kotaku Australia that “in what’s probably the first time
anywhere in the world, these IT firms are now being summonsed by the
Australian Parliament to explain why they price their products so much
higher in Australia compared to in the U.S. Adobe, Apple and Microsoft
are just a few firms that have continually defied the public’s call for
answers and refused to appear before the IT Pricing Inquiry.
Husic took aim at Apple last week over
local taxes paid by the company, telling parliament that Apple generated
A$6 billion in revenue in Australia in 2011, but paid only A$40 million
in tax – less than one percent of turnover.