Microsoft has taken yet another swing at Apple, accusing its rival from Cupertino of foisting a tax on customers. The tactic, meant to discourage consumers from considering Apple's Mac computers in order to create an advantage for Windows-based machines, is nothing new for the Redmond company, as back in October 2008, the software giant first came up with the concept. Now, in the context of Macworld, Microsoft is yet again claiming that Apple is taxing buyers extra for Macs that offer nothing more as compared to Windows-computers, which, with the same hardware configuration, are cheaper.

“You've heard from us in the past about the value of Windows Laptops in contrast with the high Apple Tax premiums on Apple's latest line of MacBooks. As we look deeper into the Apple Tax, there is a clear and daunting premium associated with owning any Mac, including desktop machines. Apple has made no effort to change this. They continue to impose the Apple Tax on consumers, even in the midst of a very challenging recession,” Microsoft revealed, as cited by SeattlePI.

The Redmond manufacturer defined the Apple Tax as the additional costs users have to cough up money for just because they use the Mac platform, costs that are not there for Windows PCs. Microsoft Corporate Vice President of Windows Consumer Marketing Brad Brooks argued that the Apple Tax stretched as far as the handicap in terms of interoperability associated with the Mac OS X operating system in comparison to Windows.

In the end, as far as Microsoft is concerned, the Apple Tax attack is a simple attempt of promoting the value of its own software, and the hardware products of its partners in comparison to Apple. The Redmond company also provided the cost/value measuring sheets included in this article, courtesy of WinSuperSite.

“Apple fans like to say that the company is like the BMW of the PC world. Fair enough. But we're Toyota, and we have the Corolla on the low-end and Lexus on the high-end. And both offer tremendous value across the board,” Brooks stated. “Microsoft has been delivering low cost technology to the masses for over 30 years,” he continued. “And we're going to push this concept of 'Life Without Walls' going forward, and explain to people the value they get when they run Windows on the PC, on the Internet, and on their phones.”