Apple Increases Prices and App Purchases in Some Countries

Apple raises the price of app stores. (photo: doc. pixabay)

JAKARTA - Apple Inc on Monday, September 19, announced that the price of apps and in-app purchases on its App Store will increase. The price increase will be in several countries including Japan, Malaysia and all regions that use the euro currency, starting next month.

The new prices, excluding auto-renewing subscriptions, will take effect October 5, Apple said in a blog post.

Reported by Reuters, these changes will also reflect new regulations for Apple in Vietnam to collect and remit applicable taxes, namely value added tax (VAT) and corporate income tax (CIT) at a rate of 5% each, the company added.

This change could also be related to the many demands from various countries accusing Apple of having a monopoly on payments in its application stores.

This condition allegedly forced Apple to increase the price of in-app and in-app purchases.

Lastly, Apple Inc., and Alphabet Inc. Google is reportedly facing an investigation into its anti-competitive practices in Mexico. This is known through a tweet on twitter from the country's former telecommunications chief filed a complaint as well as on Friday, September 9.

Mexico accuses Apple and Google of actually stifling competition, by taking advantage of their monopoly on app stores to tie up the use of their own payment processing systems for in-app purchases.

In his online statement, de Swaan Addati said the Google Play store and Apple store charge a 15%-20% commission, which ultimately forces price inflation.