In Hungary you get a Macbook Air with 256GB SSD and 8GB RAM (cheapest M1) for $1440:

https://www.alza.hu/macbook-air-m1/18884163.htm

16GB with 1TB SSD is not available, but the official price is $2960:

https://www.apple.com/hu/shop/buy-mac/macbook-pro/13-h%C3%BC...

My girlfriend found a 14'' 16GB 1TB AMD 4000x laptop for $1050 there and loves it (ACER Swift 3)

Looks like VAT in Hungary is as high as 27% (is this the rate that applies in this case? VAT-inclusive pricing disguises this tax.), which accounts for much of the price difference.

Yes, 27% VAT + high tariffs are a toxic combination. At the same time for non Apple products there is maybe some dodging of taxes going on (like a company registered in Slovakia), you never know why a product is relatively cheap there, but you can guess.

I always used argep.hu for pricing computer bits. Dunno who's better