Apple has announced that it will implement price changes for in-app purchases in the App Store starting July 25, 2023. The price change will affect app developers and users in 4 select markets covering Nigeria, Egypt, Tanzania, and Turkey. Although Apple did not specify whether this would be an upward or downward change, it cited the introduction of value-added tax (VAT) and the increase in taxes in related countries as the reason for the change, and -indicates that prices will be increased. According to the company, prices are updated in the countries concerned to reflect new developments in the area of tax laws and financial reforms.
Specifically, Apple said a 14% VAT was introduced in Egypt, while Tanzania introduced an 18% VAT plus a 2% digital tax. He added that Turkey has increased the VAT rate from 18% to 20%. Although Apple did not specifically mention the change affecting the price change for Nigeria, Nairametrics understands that it may not be related to the country's recent digital investment. The digital tax as outlined in the 2021 finance bill, requires all offshore companies that provide digital services to local customers in Nigeria to pay a 6% tax on their turnover. This covers applications, repeat purchases, electronic data storage, and online advertising.
Apple in a message to users and app developers stated: “The App Store’s commerce and payments system was built to empower you to conveniently set up and sell your products and services on a global scale in 44 currencies across 175 storefronts. When tax regulations or foreign exchange rates change, we sometimes need to update prices on the App Store in certain regions and/or adjust your proceeds. “These updates are done using publicly available exchange rate information from financial data providers to help ensure prices for apps and in‑app purchases stay equalized across all storefronts. On July 25, pricing for apps and in‑app purchases (excluding auto-renewable subscriptions) will be updated for the Egypt, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Türkiye storefronts.”
“If you’ve selected Egypt, Nigeria, Tanzania, or Türkiye as the base storefront for your app or in-app purchase (excluding auto-renewable subscriptions), the price won’t change on that storefront. Prices on other storefronts will be updated to maintain equalization with your chosen base price. “If the base storefront for your app or in-app purchase (excluding auto-renewable subscriptions) isn’t Egypt, Nigeria, Tanzania, or Türkiye, prices will increase on Egypt, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Türkiye storefronts. “If your in-app purchase is an auto-renewable subscription or if you manually manage prices on storefronts instead of using the automated equalized prices, your prices won’t change.”
