Apple updates tax and prices for App Store in Ukraine, Zimbabwe, others

Apple on Wednesday has released a list of updated pricing and proceed adjustments for apps and in-app purchases sold through the App Store in certain regions.

Certain regions will see pricing increases as Apple updates value-added taxes (VATs) and digital service taxes. The areas affected by price increases are:

• Bahrain: Increase of value-added tax from 5% to 10%
• Ukraine: New value-added tax of 20%
• Zimbabwe: New digital services tax of 5%

Prices for the following regions will not change, but developers will receive adjusted proceeds based on the following tax changes:

• The Bahamas: Decrease of value-added tax from 12% to 10%
• Oman: New value-added tax of 5%
• Tajikistan: Decrease of value-added tax from 18% to 15%

For developers in the regions below, proceeds will be adjusted accordingly to reflect tax changes for specific content types, including e-books, e-publications, and audiobooks:

• Austria: Value-added tax rate reversion to 10% after temporary decrease to 5% for qualifying e-books and audiobooks
• Latvia: Value-added tax rate decrease from 21% to 5% for qualifying e-books and e-publications
• Romania: Value-added tax rate decrease from 19% to 5% for qualifying e-books, audiobooks, and e-publication

Apple encourages developers to review the Pricing and Availability section in My Apps once the changes go into effect. Developers are reminded that they can change the price of their apps and in-app purchases in App Store Connect.

Apple recently announced plans to allow alternative payment systems in South Korea. The new system is being instated to comply with a new law forbidding tech companies from forcing first-party payment systems on developers.