Sorry but I just don't buy that but hey, when the SAPS busts down my door and hauls me off to jail for downloading Angry Birds you're more than welcome to send me an
I told you so.
Do you know anything about the law or is that all thumbsucked?
I'm not even going to try pretend I know anything about the digital media laws or whether or not there is fraud in those circumstances ... but I did answer the question about who Fraud would be perpetrated against. If you notice, I didn't specify exact names of bodies besides SARS and Reserve Bank ... but said regulatory body.
Because in these instances, if these bodies charge a fee or receive some sort of royalty for music, or to approve a game's age group ... then they are being defrauded a fee ... which could be construed as malicious intent (Or maybe not because you have no other choice? I don't know, I'm not a lawyer) ... but in all cases you get either personal or financial gain.
Will anything come of it to anyone who does ... nahhhh, I highly doubt it ... the government would have to launch a class action size criminal lawsuit against every single offender because you can't just single out one person and not the next.
In terms of me specifically mentioning SARS ... that is because by circumventing the system and saying you are American, you will purchase goods and pay American VAT. However, the goods are purchased for use in South Africa thus an import tax needs to be paid on those goods. I can say it is highly likely Google pays VAT on the stuff you buy on the App Market ... if they don't, there are some damn good loopholes being worked. In any case (Also a debatable issue due to where servers are located and what not, but for simplicity sake), the income is earned in South Africa, and although the company is American, they income is subject to tax in South Africa through Double Tax Agreements (Though I'm not a international tax specialist, so I could be wrong on the specifics of how it works). The point is, South African Tax law says that if the income is earned within the Republic it is taxable within the republic subject to certain conditions. Thus by using the American App store, you are performing a type of tax evasion.
In terms of the South African Reserve Bank ... you would be avoiding exchange control regulations by purchasing directly in America. Then again, maybe that's taken care of by the local banks whom you hold your credit card with ... that I'm not sure of ... but without knowing the exact facts and assuming the banks don't handle it for you (I know for Paypal through FNB, you have to say why you are putting money into your Paypal account for exchange control reasons), you would basically be sending money overseas illegally.
But just to re-iterate ... the question posed was who is the fraud being perpetrated against ... I gave you an answer. Perhaps you could also say Apple, I'm not going to try figure out how though.
Will you be thrown into prison for it ... fat chance, unless you are spending 10's of thousands or more ... the tax effects and consequences are immaterial and a waste of time pursuing, unless you group together everyone who does it together. But then, while the number would probably be material, it sure as hell would not be worth the bad PR for the government which would be linked to a class criminal case essentially against "The People". Remember, it's not just apple where this happens, there are myriads of other sources.
That said ... it would be a relatively simple matter for Apple to sort all this out, but chances are they just don't care.
