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| General information * [[http://www.linux.com/articles/59381|Article by Serge Wroclawski (January 2007) about refund strategy]] |
= General information = * [[http://www.linux.com/articles/59381|Article by Serge Wroclawski about refund strategy]] (January 2007) |
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| * To prevent trouble with refund there are some tipps how to buy hardware without Microsoft Tax on [[Hardware_vendors|the hardware vendor's page]]. | * To prevent trouble with refund, there are some tipps how to buy hardware without Microsoft Tax at [[Hardware_vendors|the hardware vendor's page]]. |
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| Information for specific countries Please provide date, kind of Microsoft License, company you bought it, ... |
= Information for specific countries = Below, there is a list of countries (in alphabetical order) from which we either received interesting news or reports about people trying to get reimbursement. <<BR>> If you want to add a report, please provide date, kind of Microsoft License, company you bought it from and other interesting information. You can also attach your correspondence to your report. <<BR>> * [[WindowsTaxRefund/Belgium|Belgium]] * [[WindowsTaxRefund/CzechRepublic|Czech Republic]] * [[WindowsTaxRefund/Denmark|Denmark]] * [[WindowsTaxRefund/France|France]] * [[WindowsTaxRefund/Germany|Germany]] * [[WindowsTaxRefund/Ireland|Ireland]] * [[WindowsTaxRefund/Italy|Italy]] * [[WindowsTaxRefund/Portugal|Portugal]] * [[WindowsTaxRefund/Russia|Russian Federation]] * [[WindowsTaxRefund/Spain|Spain]] * [[WindowsTaxRefund/Switzerland|Switzerland]] * [[WindowsTaxRefund/UnitedKingdom|United Kingdom]] * [[WindowsTaxRefund/OutsideEurope|Countries outside of Europe]] |
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| = Belgium = * Refunding Windows-Tax in Belgium: [[Windows-Tax_Refund/Belgium|Experiences of people seeking their Windows-Tax-Refund in Belgium]] * [[http://wiki.open-minds.org/vente_liee:historique_remboursement_bundle_logiciel_portege_r500|Belgian attempt to get reimbursed for a Toshiba]] = CZ = * [[http://osor.eu/news/cz-lenovo-fails-to-silence-gnu-linux-user-on-windows-refund|Lenovo fails to silence GNU/Linux user on Windows refund]] = Denmark = * Poul-Henning Kamp, FreeBSD developer, sues Lenovo [[http://www.linuxtoday.com/developer/2009081400635NWMSLL | Linuxtoday (English)]], [[http://www.heise.de/newsticker/Klage-gegen-Lenovo-wegen-Microsoft-Steuer--/meldung/143530| Heise (German)]] = France = * Racketiciel.info doing work on the refund in France: The [[http://www.aful.org/|AFUL]] (Association francophone des utilisateurs de Linux) put into action a [[http://www.racketiciel.info/|working group on the refund issue]]. See also a [[http://racketiciel.info/guide/index|detailed refund procedure guide]], a [[http://www.racketiciel.info/situation/nos-demandes/|summary of requests]] and a [[http://racketware.info/|list of similar actions worldwide]]. There's also some info about [[http://jlerhun.free.fr/detaxe/index.html|refund in France concerning laptops purchased through Lidl]]. = Germany = We are currently gathering information. Please add information here or write an e-mail to germany@fsfeurope.org . == Dell == * Marcus Dapp (CH) [[http://www.thealternative.ch/tiki-index.php?page=Software-Refund-en|got refund from Dell Germany]].(Link not working, contacted Markus Dapp -- [[mk]] <<DateTime(2008-10-25T11:40:20Z)>>) == Lenovo == * 2007-?: Michael Voigt reports a successful refund in Germany. The refund is 30€ and [[http://www.mail-archive.com/fsfe-de%40fsfeurope.org/msg00663.html|this]] mailing list posting describes the procedure (german only). * 2008-08-17: Matthias Kirschner got 30 EUR with the same form as discribed in Michael Voigt's refund for a Microsoft Vista License * 2008-09-18: Björn Schießle failed with a Microsoft Vista refund and get the same response from Lenovo as Hanno Böck * 2008-10-?: [[http://hboeck.de/archives/658-Lenovo,-Linux-and-Windows-refunding.html|Hanno Böck failed with a Microsoft Vista refund]] with the same form as Michael, Björn, and Matthias. = Ireland = == Acer == * 2009-08-10: Danny Riordan recieved a [[Windows-Tax_Refund/Ireland-Acer| refund claim form]]. (Need to send Computer to Acer Repair Center on own expense, refund in British Pounds.) = Italy = * Rimborso del Sistema Operativo Microsoft Windows preinstallato. [[http://www.aduc.it/dyn/rimborsowindows/|(le iniziative giudiziarie dell'ADUC)]] * Rimborso per Windows: funziona anche in Italia [[http://www.attivissimo.net/rimborso_windows/istruzioni.htm|(a cura di Paolo Attivissimo)]] * [[http://www.linuxsi.com/|LinuxSi]] * [[http://paolodelbene.blogspot.com/2008_08_01_archive.html|paolo del bene's blog entry]] about refund. (Has to be reviewed.) * [[http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2007/10/29/hp_windows_xp_preinstalled_software/|Italian court rules against HP on pre-installed Windows]], [[http://www.aduc.it/dyn/documenti/allegati/sentenza_hp.pdf|court ruling in italian]] (pdf) = Portugal = * http://nao.quero.imposto.ms (please add decription, summary) = Russia = * http://www.fas.gov.ru/english/news/n_25502.shtml Russian anti monopoly agency demands easy tax refund procedures = Spain = * http://devolucion.org (please add description, summary) = Switzerland = * The wiki's refund project from swisslinux.org (French) [[http://wiki.swisslinux.org/fr/association/projets/detaxe|wiki.swisslinux.org/fr/association/projets/detaxe]] * 20090318: [[http://ernstfamily.ch/jonathan/2009/03/hp-refunds-520-of-software/ | HP refunds 520$ for unused software]] (short article on [[http://www.linux-community.de/Internal/User-Blogs/Aus-dem-Leben-eines-Hardware-Redakteurs/600-Franken-fuer-nicht-benoetigtes-Windows| linux-community.de ]] about it in German) = UK = * [[http://www.networkworld.com/news/2006/110706-dell-windows.html|Dave Mitchell (UK) gets refund from Dell UK]] * 2008-05-28: [[http://www.osor.eu/news/uk-educational-it-agency-microsoft-tax/ | Educational IT agency: 'Microsoft tax' unacceptable]] = Outside Europe = == Australia == * ''[[http://www.muftor.com/blog/?p=12|Windows Vista refund or credit?]]'' (Australia) == United States == * [[http://linuxjournal.com/article/7040|Strategy for getting a refund in the US]] (by Steve Qualline, Linuxjournal, 2003) == Unsorted == |
= Unsorted Information = Here we collect information and links that currently do not fit anywhere else. Please think twice about alternative locations before posting something here. <<BR>> |
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| * [[http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/12/04/dell_windows_eula_israel/|Israeli Linux fan squeezes Windows refund out of Dell]] ([[http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3632861,00.html|more detailed original source from ynetnews.com]]) |
The "Windows Tax" has artificially increased hardware prices for users of GNU/Linux by a mandatory payment to Microsoft even though no Microsoft software is being used on these machines. The reason: Almost any computer and laptop is bundled with a Microsoft Windows licence. Most vendors will not sell computers without it because apparently their terms with Microsoft do not allow it.
The only way to counteract that "Windows Tax" on PCs and laptops is to ask for a refund, but details on this process are not easy to find, and there is no central repository to allow people gather and share their information with the process. Changing that is the purpose of this page.
General information
Article by Serge Wroclawski about refund strategy (January 2007)
Refund cases are also collected at http://www.racketware.info/index
To prevent trouble with refund, there are some tipps how to buy hardware without Microsoft Tax at the hardware vendor's page.
Fabian Thommen ordered a Dell without XP from the very beginning (no refund necessary). His report can be found here
Serge Wroclawski gives a counterpoint for any excuses the vendor might have
Read the details about your license on Microsoft's software license terms page.
Information for specific countries
Below, there is a list of countries (in alphabetical order) from which we either received interesting news or reports about people trying to get reimbursement.
If you want to add a report, please provide date, kind of Microsoft License, company you bought it from and other interesting information. You can also attach your correspondence to your report.
Unsorted Information
Here we collect information and links that currently do not fit anywhere else. Please think twice about alternative locations before posting something here.
Site gathering interesting info (in catalan)