Holy shit. Why?? Is it around the same cost in Euros? I don't understand this. I literally paid half of that for mine.

The version that is referred to has to be the 15" with extra SSD and more expensive CPU.

Before taxes Apple's prices varies around 10% with Japan and USA consistently being the cheapest. (Excluding "special" cases like Venezuela or mainland China with has either special import taxes or a failing currency.)

VAT (sales tax) in Europe is in general around 20%; for a company this tax is fully deductible.

Also in Europe we usually talk about VAT included prices, while in the US they talk about VAT excluded prices.

I don't know if that's the case here. The only Apple products I have are a 1991 PowerBook and a Macintosh II (first model) I keep as mementos.

Could you explain the VAT tax deduction? When I was in Europe I purchased one expensive thing, and I got a refund for VAT at the airport. This was nice and made sense. But otherwise I don't understand it.

As noted elsewhere in this thread. UK consumer law also forces bundled 6-year warranties on electronics which adds substantially to the costs.