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I subscribe to XBox Game Pass which is excellent value under normal circumstances, meaning you get to rent games for a monthly fee of US$9.99.
In my case, that's AR$599 which means that Microsoft is probably using location based pricing which is linked to a country's standard of living etc. However, with the draconian taxes imposed here, that shoots up to AR$947.51 as a punishment.
WOW!!!!
This isn't new, but the tax still remains.
The tax remains outrageous.
I've been subscribing to Spotify through Mercadolibre for the last few months because at AR$280 per month it seemed a good deal. At first I thought that the payment would be in pesos and that would be that, but no.
However, I don't spend all day with headphones on and only really listen to music after a few too many Capt Morgans late at night 
Anyway, with these horrendous taxes, that $280 becomes $463, so goodbye Spotify thanks to this bunch of fuckers.
You don't listen to music much so fair enough. But 463 pesos a month for all the music you want on tap is not bad either way, in fact it's a bargain. I think Spotify is $9.99 per month in the US.
it's a decent price if you get paid in USD....if you get paid in pesos , a wee bit expensive.
Looking at it another way , its two cans of beer.
This is where the concept of unanchored expectation comes in (see the ‘Inflation in Argentina’ thread).
Because we earn in dollars, it is virtually impossible for me to see a figure of 463 pesos without thinking “that’s about $1.50/month.” But in actual on-the-ground fact, for Argentines and expats earning in pesos, 463 pesos is a completely different calculation. The practical translation of two cans of beer (thanks, GlasgowJohn ) helps.
This is where the concept of unanchored expectation comes in (see the ‘Inflation in Argentina’ thread).
Because we earn in dollars, it is virtually impossible for me to see a figure of 463 pesos without thinking “that’s about $1.50/month.” But in actual on-the-ground fact, for Argentines and expats earning in pesos, 463 pesos is a completely different calculation. The practical translation of two cans of beer (thanks, GlasgowJohn ) helps.
But it is still only two cans of beer or one cup of coffee for a whole month's worth of music and podcasts. I get it for people who don't listen to music often, but we have become so accustomed to having our entertainment on tap that we think even the US price of $9.99 is too much. I listen to a lot of music from a lot of different bands/singers, so to have all that at my disposal for 463 pesos or 10 bucks is excellent to me. I would also say for the casual user, Spotify's free version is perhaps best.
Netflix is the same, under 2,000 pesos for thousands of shows and movies that are avialable whenever you want them is a bargain, no matter what currency you earn. That doesn't mean everybody can afford it, and it doesn't mean everybody should pay for it. For example, I am considering my future on Netflix because I am simply not using it enough. But I am not going to pretend these services are expensive.
But it is still only two cans of beer or one cup of coffee for a whole month's worth of music and podcasts. I get it for people who don't listen to music often, but we have become so accustomed to having our entertainment on tap that we think even the US price of $9.99 is too much. I listen to a lot of music from a lot of different bands/singers, so to have all that at my disposal for 463 pesos or 10 bucks is excellent to me. I would also say for the casual user, Spotify's free version is perhaps best.
Netflix is the same, under 2,000 pesos for thousands of shows and movies that are avialable whenever you want them is a bargain, no matter what currency you earn. That doesn't mean everybody can afford it, and it doesn't mean everybody should pay for it. For example, I am considering my future on Netflix because I am simply not using it enough. But I am not going to pretend these services are expensive.
It comes back to the point that Rice mentioned in another thread. We creally are tightening our belts, so anything that isn't used to the full has to be jettisoned.
I do like Spotify, it's brilliant and yes, it's cheap, but when you add it to everything else, it's a question of priorities.
It comes back to the point that Rice mentioned in another thread. We creally are tightening our belts, so anything that isn't used to the full has to be jettisoned.
I do like Spotify, it's brilliant and yes, it's cheap, but when you add it to everything else, it's a question of priorities.
Oh for sure, I know that we have to pick and choose what we keep and let go of. No argument at all on that. Like I said, I have been questioning the worth of Netflix recently but at the same time it is still - along with Prime - a place that collects content rather than the likes of Disney+ and HBO that apread the content around in an endless cycle of streaming bills each month.
I also found it is very easy to put these services on direct debit and mostly forget about them. I checked a couple of months back and I had Spotify, Netflix, Prime, HBO, Star+, and the fecking football pack Telecentro (clever bastards had it for three months free and I simply forgot to cut it out). Add a VPN on top and that all amounts to around $60+ each month. I had to pick and choose what to keep.
Aside from games, YouTube has become my visual entertainment almost exclusively.
Btw, I also noticed a few days ago that the Xbox games I was dicussing last week on this forum are charged in dollars on my credit card (despite saying pesos in the store), so I will be paying higher taxes on future purchases. Still not complaining though, I spent the same as 15,000 pesos last month and I got over 50 games. Unheard of in both Argentina and the US, so thanks I guess to Microsoft!
Display MoreOh for sure, I know that we have to pick and choose what we keep and let go of. No argument at all on that. Like I said, I have been questioning the worth of Netflix recently but at the same time it is still - along with Prime - a place that collects content rather than the likes of Disney+ and HBO that apread the content around in an endless cycle of streaming bills each month.
I also found it is very easy to put these services on direct debit and mostly forget about them. I checked a couple of months back and I had Spotify, Netflix, Prime, HBO, Star+, and the fecking football pack Telecentro (clever bastards had it for three months free and I simply forgot to cut it out). Add a VPN on top and that all amounts to around $60+ each month. I had to pick and choose what to keep.
Aside from games, YouTube has become my visual entertainment almost exclusively.
Btw, I also noticed a few days ago that the Xbox games I was dicussing last week on this forum are charged in dollars on my credit card (despite saying pesos in the store), so I will be paying higher taxes on future purchases. Still not complaining though, I spent the same as 15,000 pesos last month and I got over 50 games. Unheard of in both Argentina and the US, so thanks I guess to Microsoft!
If you pay through Mercadolibre for HBO, Paramount, Disney and Star, you don't pay the additional 75% taxes.
Take a peek
I am paying USD 16.79/month for Netflix, as I originally subscribed in the US and never changed it because I couldn't understand what the final price would be in Argentina with these random taxes. I share my Netflix account with my mother in Italy and my cousin in Germany, as I put it on her TV when I visited two years ago to watch a show, and left it as a thank you gift. My mother has an Amazon Prime subscription because she purchases books and goods from Amazon.it, and it has Amazon Prime video included. I am using her Amazon Prime Video to watch some movies from Buenos Aires. I wouldn't subscribe to Prime myself as the catalogue is uninteresting compared to Netflix.
If I understand correctly, Splinter current pays 1650 plus 75% = ARS 2890. If I were to pay it with my Wise debit at the official rate, I would pay about 23 USD/month, and this is without additional households. But if I pay it with Mercadopago, using local pesos, that would be less than 9 USD.
I consider also that when paying locally I am drawing from our local reserve, which is limited.
I have Acrobat Pro DC by subscription as an Argentina resident, billed in pesos at 581 ARS per month, that become 952.84 ARS after taxes.
There was some mixup when I signed up: the subscription for Argentinians is cheaper than for the US. However, I didn't initially notice that they only accept payment by Argentinian credit card (we just have a debit card), so after a lot of chat and calls with the Argentinian customer service, I had to put in the details of my US debit card with Wise. Apparently, debit from abroad are okay, debit from Argentina is not okay...
On Wise, ARS are converted to USD/EUR at the official rate, so I pay €7.53. The price for Acrobat Pro DC for the US is $14.99/month, so I still pay a lot less.
Another service that is obviously cheaper here are courier services brokerage. I send documents by courier several times a month for my work, either from Argentina to the US or from the US to the rest of the world, so I have been exploring options.
I have found this courier that for just 3600 ARS sent by FedEx my documents from Buenos Aires to California. This at least half (if not a third) of the official FedEx rate in Argentina. They also quoted me 6300 ARS for the opposite route (from the US to Argentina) by DHL, which is quoted at USD 85 by DHL.com. 6300 ARS is 50 USD at the official rate, which is exactly the brokerage price from Netparcel for the same route.
Now, spending 6300 means exchanging 20 USD at the blue rate nowadays, so it is incredibly cheap... provided you have many USD here. (after the car debacle our reserve is low)
Britain’s Window Tax was later unsuccessfully tried in two of the former colonies, Virginia and Pennsylvania.
The concept of taxing windows as a way of taxing wealth gave rise to a myth still believed by many today. Like the window tax, the imagined closet tax was said to have affected architecture because houses were taxed by the number of rooms, and closets were supposedly taxed as rooms. [In reality, the reason 18th century houses didn’t have clothes closets was that the few clothes people (even wealthy people) had were folded and kept in drawers or a clothes press.]
Display MoreBritain’s Window Tax was later unsuccessfully tried in two of the former colonies, Virginia and Pennsylvania.
The concept of taxing windows as a way of taxing wealth gave rise to a myth still believed by many today. Like the window tax, the imagined closet tax was said to have affected architecture because houses were taxed by the number of rooms, and closets were supposedly taxed as rooms. [In reality, the reason 18th century houses didn’t have clothes closets was that the few clothes people (even wealthy people) had were folded and kept in drawers or a clothes press.]
There are still similar taxes here now that I come to think about it. When I had to apply for a licence to open my first shop in Olivos, I spent a week in the local council - yes, a whole week, sorting out the paperwork.
I had to detail every plug and light socket in the building, for which I was liable to pay a fee for each existing fitting. Naturally I lied through my teeth even when warned that I would be inspected for corroboration of such facts.
That whole week is worth a short story in itself and is a perfect reflection of why this country is on its knees - so many obstacles to being fair and running a business.
