In Brazil, taxes for electronics are always upwards of +100% if you compare prices in the US to our retail, end-user prices. Sometimes, this even gets to +150% or +200%.

In addition, AFAIK, roughly 75% of computer parts and such are smuggled. Yes, 75%, as in 3 out of 4. When you have 15000km of borders, it's easy. Most of it comes from Paraguay or Miami. All local computer stores use smuggled parts. You don't trust the manufacturer here, you trust the guy who sells you stuff. (bad, bad, bad)

CISCO only did what most people here do. Not that it's right though. But the taxes are so ridiculously high that things always ends up like this.

Please, please, don't ask me why they don't charge 25% taxes and make everyone pay. This would give the government the same amount of money and it would make sense. (if 25% pay 100% tax, then you get 25% revenue on the total importations, but if 100% pay 25%... well, you get the math)

Brazil is a strange, strange country. Spoken like a true Brazilian...

If I remeber correctly we brazilians pay "only" 60% of import taxes on eletronics.

The fun starts later. I don't know myself how many taxes we pay for something - but I do know that the number is greater than 20.

And the "n+1" tax is calculated on the basis of the "n" tax. Yes, that's right. The "n+3" tax is calculated over the total of "product + "n tax" + "n+2 tax".

Yes, it is a joke - and on us! :(

Ah, well. At least we don't have earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis, blizzards...