Windows Cheap Enough For $2B Aussie Laptop Deal

An anonymous reader writes "Windows-based netbooks aren't too expensive to be ruled out of the Aussie government's billion dollar promise to give a laptop to every school-aged child, according to several education departments. The admission follows an earlier report that open source machines based on Ubuntu or Mandriva are the only option to deliver up to four million computers to students for under $2 billion. Microsoft itself claimed it will keep costs per unit down by hosting a lot of the educational software in the cloud rather than on the netbook devices."

Comments

Not really the same.

[Anonymous Coward]

This seems like apples and oranges... With Ubuntu (for example) they're storing their files locally, with Windows they're going to be stored on Microsoft's servers somewhere, it's not really a comparable solution.

Re:What a surprise

[grege1]

I agree absolutely, and Microsoft will have to cave in because the thought of every school kid in the country using Linux and OpenOffice would give them nightmares. I would like to see the Education departments really use Linux laptops, but they do not have the guts to carry it through.

Summary incorrect

[kaos07]

to give a laptop to every school-aged child

No, the policy is to give upper high school children in years 9-12 a laptop not "every school-aged child".

Re:$500 a "netbook"?

[Sabriel]

Note that the article is about Australia; one Aussie dollar currently equals 66 US cents and after the various middlemen get their markup the value of a computer in AUD is often double its USD value.

(funny how every time the AUD approaches the USD, something happens to the stock market to bring it back down :p)

Re:$500 a "netbook"?

[strider44]

This is in Australian dollars (approx. $330 USD) and includes a maintenance contract.

Re:$500 a "netbook"?

[Chandon Seldon]

Things outide the US are generally more expensive, not including shipping/customs costs and currency differences.

For millions of units of something made in Taiwan, it shouldn't be terribly difficult to get a reasonable price on it in Australia. At that volume, you can rent your own ship. If you're the Australian government, you shouldn't be paying customs. Etc.

Re:$500 a "netbook"?

[Eskarel]

Unfortunately it doesn't work that way.

Yes, the stuff is made in Taiwan or somewhere else in South East Asia, and yes, that's closer to Australia, than it is to most of the US, but we still pay more for everything.

It's just the way things are. Just about everything is more expensive here.

Re:$500 a "netbook"?

[Anonymous Coward]

For a start, the majority of the cost on computers is luxury tax. Yes, the tax man in Australia still considers computers to be a "luxury".

I'm an accountant and this is wrong. There is no luxury tax on computers. It is certainly not the majority of cost on computers.

Secondly, if the education department was to opt not to pay the luxury tax on these laptops then the revenue department would claim a shortfall.

There is no luxury tax. I'll let you work out if it's a taxable supply for GST purposes. Suggest reading the GST Act.

Oh, and for added hilarity, did you know that you have to pay taxes on unemployment benefits received from the government? Typically you don't.. because benefits are so low that it puts you under the tax free threshold.. but if you're unemployed for 6 months and employed for the remaining 6 months of a financial year, your combined incoming (benefits+salary) is taxed.. and you'll pay sales tax either way, and import taxes and luxury tax.

The tax legislation takes the view that it is income. I don't think that's unreasonable.

Double, triple, quadruple taxes.. the ATO has no shame.

You are putting the blame in the wrong spot. The Australian Tax Office's prime responsibility is for the administration of the tax system. They make some rulings, and the courts decide definitively on edge cases but ultimately the tax legislation has been determined by parliament and is contained in the various tax acts.