eric5h5: No, VAT = Value Added Tax, which occurs when value is added at each stage of a supply chain. The U.S. has sales tax, which is different since it applies only to the final sale in the supply chain. Resellers along the way don't pay sales tax.
It does not matter how many times goods at any point of a supply chain may become "taxed" as long as there is no reselling appearing in between. Powerful companies are in control of a big supply chain "on their own", so they do not need to pay a new sales tax, a VAT, at every single reselling point of the goods they are in need for... because it is "in house".
So, it is as much a "sales tax" as it is a VAT... A VAT is simply a certain form of a sales tax. There could be differences of course but in the end it all is a certain type of "sales tax". As well it does not matter "how they are naming it", goods are not out of the blue "with more value"... it is simply another name for a certain tax linked to sales and reselling.
There are so many taxes involved in our daily economy... if people start to think about with serious insight... they might become shocked. It is as a result very surprising why so many people get so little money out of the massive amount of taxes coming from countless sources. Perhaps because of a lot of corruption... or very low efficiency on "how to use it".
Besides: I still get cheaper Steam keys at another place than on Steam... like it or not. If Steam truly ONLY is setting this rule, then they are lying to themself as they do not take into account the dynamics linked to it, created by themself, which is with higher dementia than some of the over aged politicians may have.
I mean, they should stop writing a entire rule-poem inside some EULA when almost half of the stuff is either dishonest or at least as offensive that 90% of the gamers fail to believe it... for example "you own nothing... you rent your game... i swear, it is hard to believe for the majority, they deny the truth out of their innocent belief that the world is way more innocent than it truly is". As an example of another evil thing: Taxes, any form of... are usually cumulative. Example: Lets say, the raw oil is 10 cent, and at every reselling step there is a tax added.. and at the final stage several taxes at once... finally we may have a 10 times higher price in which 90% comes from all sort of taxes, nothing else. But if people want a discount it rarely ever is cumulative, simply a matter of "who got the longer stick". Guess nobody ever experienced, unless it is a scam... that they said "you get a A-discount, on top of the B-discount and the C-discount will be added as well... it usually only happens if goods are near zero value and in the end simply a scam. But if it comes to taxes... it is not "the exception", it is totally normal and widely accepted.
Realistically, with their current policy they are using, we can expect lower key prices elsewhere, while usually able to get the best non key deals directly at their place. Because in usual... there are no lower non-key prices at another place, as a result of their policy and/or market dominance. Any other stuff is rather a lot of powerless words but not realism.
Not going to argue to much... i lack the time doing so, not the energy or anything else.
