Saturday, August 15, 2015

Poland Wants the VAT on Books and e-Books to be the same

HNCK8306

Poland is getting fed up with the VAT between print books and e-books and are doing something about it. A number of Polish judges have asked European Court of Justice to look into the matter.

Currently print books in Poland have a 5% VAT but e-books carry a hefty surcharge of 23%.  The main reason for this is because the EU classifies  e-books are a “service” and not a “product.”

Not only are the judges now involved, but the Minister of Culture MaƂgorzata Omilanowska called on the European Commission to immediately start working on a directive that would make electronic and traditional books legally equal.

The high cost of VAT on e-books is stagnating the entire digital publishing industry in Poland. Schools, libraries and corporate bodies are still going with print, because the digital editions are not budget friendly.

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