Consumer advocacy organisations have called for government action after a parliamentary report on IT pricing found Australians on average are charged 50 per cent more than people in comparable countries.
Microsoft Australia boss Pip Marlow blamed labour and rental costs, compliance with local laws, customer perception and increased competition as key reasons for up to a 70% price disparity between the company’s products in Australia and the United States.
Australians can go to the US if they want lower American prices on boxed Adobe products, or buy the company’s cloud-based offering, an Adobe official told a Parliamentary panel today.
Australians pay too much for software and the industry is lying through its teeth to try and protect this most profitable grift.