Have you checked out the Empower program for ISVs? It's a pretty good deal. You get MSDN universal and lots of testing licences for a reasonable cost. Thing is though, its more reasonable in some countries than it is in others. I was annoyed to see that the price varies wildly depending where you are.
Example:
USA € 312
Ireland € 320
Au € 551
Now, I'm not saying that companies shouldn't be allowed to charge what they want for their products. Its up to consumers to decide if it represents value for money. And 300 odd Euro for all this software is a good deal. But guess where I'm buying mine? Yep, Au. What's with the 60% price hike for Aussies?
I asked Microsoft. They duly replied and said that pricing is :
Country specific.
Reflects GST.
Relates to customer base in Au, which may be smaller than other countries.
Based on cost to provide subscription to Au subscribers.
Well I thought, that would make sense except that firstly, sales tax in Ireland is 21%, here its 10% and secondly, there are more people in this city alone than there are in the whole of Ireland.
Doesn't add up does it?