For a very long time, the price you've seen on our products has been inclusive of sales tax. So the price advertised for Integrity Plus is $15 USD and that's all you pay. We have been paying the sales tax which is charged at your country's rate and policy.
Sales tax varies widely. Some places have no sales tax at all or a very low percentage. But if a customer from a country that levies a 20% rate buys Scrutiny for the advertised price of $115 USD, we get about $85 after paying the tax and some other fees.
In some countries it's normal to mark prices exclusive of tax, and in other countries such as my own, prices in most shops are traditionally inclusive with no mention of the tax.
But now with certain online purchases I tend to expect tax to be added at checkout. If I spend 10 of our UK pounds on digital music I know I'm going to be charged £12.
I don't think we've used the word 'inclusive' anywhere*, so the fact that we have been covering that tax may well have been a pleasant surprise to customers who are already the checkout. If they're a business or non-profit customer, depending on factors like the size and location of their business, they may well be claiming that tax back (which we have paid) so it has represented an unexpected and significant discount.
So today we're changing our policy so that our advertised prices don't include the tax. The sales tax or vat is now added at checkout, depending on the policy and rate of your country or state.
This comes at a time when we have looked at possible price increases and ruled those out. You may well have expected to be paying the tax anyway. If you weren't, then please remember that it's a tax that your government is collecting from you on purchases that you make.
If you have been trialling any of our products and were expecting the price to be inclusive of tax, and are reading this because you're upset to discover this, then please contact us to arrange a suitable discount.
* if you know differently, contact us for a bounty in the form of a voucher
