Hello Willum,

Speaking as a native Californian I can tell you that the sales tax in my home state (Bebop lives there) was 7.75% as of July 2002. I doubt it has increased since then. "Rip-off Britain" is no fallacious indictment of the cost of most everything in this country since almost everything costs a lot more here than in the United States. But when it comes to keyboards the pendulum swings the other way and it is the U.S. that becomes the rip-off country. I have to believe it is Technics that is controlling prices within each market (read country) and not the dealers.

Chuck