When is a 20 per cent price mark-up not a 20 per cent price mark-up? Apparently, when Apple interim chief executive, Mr Steve Jobs, does the maths. Back in July, The Margin had the dubious honour of asking the famed - and famously unevenly-tempered - Apple co-founder the only question that made him visibly annoyed at a press conference at MacWorld Expo in New York.
Why, we queried, were Apple products more expensive in Europe than in the United States? Mr Jobs, along with three other execs, each gave long answers which boiled down to a clear statement: "You're wrong."
According to Mr Jobs, the computers cost exactly the same - allowing for minor currency fluctuations - and the fault lay with all the Euro governments and their evil VAT regimes.
The Margin protested that this wasn't the case. Mr Jobs was adamant. Last week, Apple Ireland revealed that the flashy new iBook laptop would be priced at £1,569 including VAT. In the US, it sells for $1,595 (£1,202). The Margin rests its case, Mr Jobs.
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