It's because the US doesn't put taxes in their prices
From what I've seen, prices overall are better / lower in the US. Prima facia, the only visible tax we get hit with, is the sales tax in your state of residence. In my case, (PA), that's 6% However, here in "Killadelphia", the city tacks on another 2%, which I assume is punishment for either being sufficiently brave of heart, or stupid enough, to live here. Most of the suppliers ignore that, which makes me wonder if one day, there'll be police helicopters hovering over my house trying to collect said 2%..Still, I have to wonder if the lower prices plus state sales tax are offsetting enough to still be below European actual selling prices, before the addition of the VAT tax.
Our next door neighbor state, Delaware, charges no sales tax at all. State income taxes though, are horrific. But, their government seems to have convinced residents that the higher income tax, is offset by the droves of out of state customers coming to Delaware to beat the sales tax.The Delaware state line is only about 15 miles, or 2 gallons of gas away and back from Philly. I used to use around $100, 00, as the break even point, when deciding whether or not it was worth driving down there to shop tax free.
IDK what the prices are like over there in "Transylvania", but be thankful you don't live in Australia. A simple 12 string acoustic guitar string set which cost $8.00 in the US, topped out at $24.00 down under. (Those prices were prior to the-pandemic, and the nasty bout of inflation we're dealing with now).
Taxation, in general is, at best, "a shell game", or ,"robbing Peter to pay Paul"..(That said, the customer always seems to be named, "Peter").
The VAT tax, (with my limited understanding of it), nails the end customer at every stage of transition, from manufacturer to one's front door. I wonder, if that allows corporations to escape some of what should be their fair share of the tax burden, by passing it on the the consumer. Although, to be fair, with our tax system, a reseller pays no tax on their merchandise in inventory, but at the time of sale, the consumers get hit with the full burden.
Again, as I understand it, Apple places their corporate headquarters in Ireland, due directly to its low corporate tax rates.
In the end, the customers are going to get screwed one way or another, so it's probably best to just grab your ankles, and enjoy the ride.
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