Zero VAT Leads to a Book Market Rebound in the Czech Republic - Publishing Perspectives

See you in the morning.

At the Publishing Perspective site Panzer found a post about the Czech Republic's book market;

  

According to the post by Jaroslaw Adamowski, Czech Republic's book market is making a turn around impart with the zero VAT on books.

 

Panzer says, "Hmm ... Why is a sales turnaround with zero VAT a surprise?"

 

 Note: This is a long post. You'll need to decide what to bring to snack on here.

 

To read the post tootle over to VAT 

Denmark Drops Its 25-Percent Vat on Books - Publishing Perspectives

25 percent VAT on books?

Panzer's stop today was at the Publishing Perspectives site. There he found a post about Denmark's book VAT.

 

According to Porter Anderson's post, Denmark has dropped it's 25-percent VAT on books to zero. The post examines the elimination on reading in the  country and elsewhere.

 

Panzer says, "This little kitty thinks this is a smart move."

 

Note: This is a very long post. You'll need to decide what to bring to snack on.

 

To read the post tootle over to Denmark Book VAT 

Coronavirus Update: The UK Scraps Its 20-percent VAT on Digital Books - Publishing Perspectives

Panzer was taking a well-deserved nap, when he was shaken from his kitty bed by clapping and cheering. Hopping in the Panzermobile, our intrepid traveling kitty headed into the Catosphere. Following all the jocularity took him to the Publishing Perspectives site. There with no digging at all he discovered a post about the UK's (United Kingdom) VAT was causing all the noise.

Woo Hoo! The tax is gone!

According to Porter Anderson's post, as of today (May 1) the UK's VAT (value added tax) on digital products is gone. This means ebooks, e-journals and e-newspapers are no longer subject to the 20 percent VAT. This is a windfall for the UK's citizens who are stuck at home because of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic and reading ebooks and e-newspapers is one of their only entertainments.

Panzer says, "Finally. Something good came out of this virus thingy."

Note: This is a long post. Bring a cup of tea and two muffins for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to UK digital books VAT

Poland Approves Reduction of Ebook VAT from 23 to 5 percent - Publishing Perspectives

Panzer was shaken from his nap by clapping and cheering coming from the Catosphere. Hopping in the Panzermobile, he followed all the noise to the Publishing Perspectives site. With just a little digging he found a post about Poland's VAT.

It's a book.

According to Jaroslaw Adamowski, beginning November 1, print and ebooks will be subject to the same VAT in Poland. Previously, the print book VAT was 5 percent and the ebook was 23 percent. Both readers and publishers will benefit from the change. The post included statistics on digital book readers, buyers and publishers.

Panzer says, "This little kitty says, whether it's made from a dead tree or electrons a book is a book and all should be taxed the same."

Note: This is a l-o-n-g post. Bring a gallon of tea and a dozen muffins for today's reading selection. You might want to bring a blanket for a nap in the middle too.

To read the post tootle over to Poland digital VAT

UK's Publishers Association leads 'Axe the Reading Tax' Campaign - Publishing Perspectives

Why tax an ebook?

Today as Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere, he heard shouting coming from outside the Panzermobile. Following all the hullabaloo took our brave kitty pilot to the Publishing Perspectives site. With hardly any digging at all in the posts, he found one about the UK's VAT (Value Added Tax) on digital reading material.

According to Publishing Perspectives Editor-in-Chief Porter Anderson, the UK's Publishers Association has launched a campaign to get the UK's VAT removed from digital material. The UK has a 20 percent VAT on ebooks, audio books and other digital reading materials. The campaign is called 'Axe the Reading Tax' and would make the digital reading material VAT the same as the print reading material VAT which is zero.  The Publishers Association has sent a letter to the chancellor of the exchequer demanding the removal of the VAT.  Included in the post is a list of all the representatives of the different groups who signed the letter. There are several links included in the post to other information.

Panzer says, "This little kitty never did understand why there is a tax on ebooks and audio books, but not on printed books."

Note: This is a long post. Bring half a thermos of tea and three muffins for today's reading. If you plan to follow all the links in the post, bring a gallon of tea, a dozen muffins and a sleeping bag for a nap in the middle of your reading.

To read the post tootle over to UK Publishers' Association

EU Court Rules Lower Sales Tax Only Applies to Print, Not eBooks - The Digital Reader

Panzer was jolted from his afternoon nap by crying and shouting coming from the Catosphere. Hopping into the Panzermobile, he followed the weeping and gnashing of teeth to The Digital Reader site. There our brave kitty found a post about the EU Court of Justice.

Please explain this to me.

According to the post at The Digital Reader, the European Court of Justice in announcing their decision in the digital book VAT case ruled digital books will be charged a higher tax than printed books. According to the EU Court judges, digital books are electronic and not allowed the lower rate because the EU legislature  "consists in the exclusion of all electronic services from the possibility of a reduced rate of VAT being applied."

Panzer says, "Hmm ... When is a book not a book? I'll never understand humans."

Note: This is a shortish-medium post. Bring a cup of tea and half a muffin for today's reading selection.

To read the post, tootle over to EU Court

Under pressure from national governments, Commission lowers VAT rates for ebooks - EurActiv.com

I am so tired after that trip.

Today Panzer made a l-o-n-g trip in the Catosphere. Our adventurous kitty traveled all the way to the EurActiv.com site. There he found a post about the EU VAT on ebooks.

According to the post by Catherine Stupp, the European Commission has proposed to allow ebooks and online newspapers and news services to be sold with the same 7.6 percent VAT rate as paper books and paper newspapers. EU countries can accept the new VAT rate proposal or not as they determine. The proposal will not become effective until Members of the European Parliament and the respective national governments agree to it.

Panzer says, "Maybe EU ebook sales will  get better since the Commission is getting rid of the 19.9 percent VAT on ebooks."

Note: This is a l-o-n-g post. Bring a cup of tea and one-and-a-half muffins for today's reading selection.

To read the post, tootle over to Vat rates

How Will "The Brexit" Impact Book Publishing? - Book Business

Panzer decided to do a little exploring in the Catosphere today. Our inquisitive kitty wanted to see what he could find out about Brexit's impact on publishing. His searches took him to the Book Business site.

Now ... What is VAT? EU?

There Panzer found an interesting post by Ellen Harvey loaded with the same questions he has. Like: "What about the VAT?" "New taxes?" "Sales where?" While the post doesn't answer any of the questions, it does include links to other posts that although not definitive do prove helpful. Oh ... The post includes a few quoted tweets from authors too.

Panzer says, "It's all so confusing to this little kitty."

Note: This is a short post, but there are linked posts that make this a l-o-n-g post. You'll need two cups of tea and two muffins for today's whole reading selection.

To read the post, tootle over to Brexit and book publishing

Rakuten Shuttering Its U.K. Marketplace - PW (Publishers' Weekly)

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere when he heard crying and wailing. Following all the noise took him to the PW site. There our kitty adventurer found the source of all the angst was a post about Play.com closing.

Let's see what's happening here.

The post by Neill Denny covers the announcement by Rakuten of the closure of their United Kingdom Play.com site in August. Although the Japanese company has owned Play.com since 2011, a change in the VAT system in 2012 necessitated changes to the platform. Even with those changes it still was not enough to make the platform viable. Rakuten has decided instead to concentrate their efforts in the French and German markets.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... Did the VAT really make them leave the U.K.?"

Note: This is a shortish post. You'll only need a cup of tea for today's reading selection.

To read the post, tootle over to Rakuten

European VAT and U.K. Indie Authors

Sometimes you just make it worse.

Panzer took a leisurely Sunday trip around the Catosphere this morning. Our kitty boy parked the Panzermobile at The Guardian for a little rest stop.

While he was walking around and stretching his legs, he happened to find a post about the VAT (Value Added Tax) and indie authors in the United Kingdom. According to Anne Baddeley's post, UK indie authors who sell their ebooks from their own websites are being hit hard by the European Commission's VAT. Any time an ebook is sold from the author's website to someone outside the UK the author must collect the respective VAT for whatever country the buyer is located. This is turning into a logistic nightmare for authors. They either need to purchase special software to compute the VAT for them or simply stop selling from their website and put their books on Amazon (or other e-retailer site).

Panzer says, "Can't you EU guys give indies a break?"

To read the post, tootle over to VAT and self-published authors

VAT Will Increase Ebook Price

What do you do with the tax money?

Panzer got jerked out of his noon nap today by all the CATerwauling going on in the Catosphere. He hopped in the Panzermobile to track down the trouble. My poor sleepy kitty pilot found the answer at The Bookseller site.

In a post by Lisa Campbell and Sarah Shaffi he learned about a new European VAT.  This new taxation law of digital products goes into effect on January 1. Ebooks are included in the EU taxation change. The change will mandate an ebook is taxed at the location of the buyer not the location of the seller. According to Ms. Campbell and Ms. Shaffi, this means the European price of ebooks could be significantly higher after the first of the year.

Panzer says, "How can you increase the tax on a bunch of electrons from Luxembourg just because  they travel to the UK or Germany? You humans tax everything."

To read the complete post and what this change will mean for ebook prices in Europe, tootle over to ebook prices