Add a few more players to the game, and you get:
- A national system of tollways, with microcharging so it's useable on roads of any size
- A billing system for parking stations, event parking, or even roadside parking at all in city zones
- Ability to charge more for certain roads during peak periods (like a congestion tax)
- A speed tax?

I've been a consumer of ameteur music & sound equipment for a while, in Australia. I've been appalled at the way such things are priced here. US web prices are less than half the local "discount" and online prices, let alone in-store small-retailer prices. Even paying international air freight on individual items, it's a huge difference.

I spoke with a retailer about it, and it comes down to there being only one distributor who fixes the minimum prices locally, with the threat of shutting off access to ALL brands if a retailer attempts parallel imports or breaches the specified price. I can empathise with a low-turnover retailer, but not with a sole importer holding a captive market.

Australian law explicitly allows parallel or grey imports, but cannot force a distributor to deal with a retailer. Further, international web sellers are often prevented from selling internationally by their own supplier contracts.

I'm most appreciative of Behringer's policy on international pricing, which stops me being ripped off by a monopoly importer.