The Danish Government Announces The Cancellation Of Value-added Tax On Books

The Danish government announced in August that it will reduce the value-added tax on books to zero in order to improve reading standards.
The European Publishers Association welcomes Denmark's approach. Denmark is the third EU member state to abolish the value-added tax on books. Previously, the Czech Republic and Ireland abolished the policy of levying value-added tax on books. The UK is also exempt from book value-added tax, but it is not within the EU.
The European Publishers Association is trying to persuade governments around the world to exempt audiobooks from taxes after canceling the value-added tax on e-books. In 2021, the European Economic and Financial Affairs Committee made a decision to significantly reduce or exempt value-added tax on certain basic goods in EU countries. At the end of that year, books, newspapers, and magazines were included in the list of products eligible for preferential policies.
Christine B ø dtcher Hansen, Director General of the Danish Publishers Association, informed the European Publishers Association that Mette Frederiksen's coalition government has decided to cancel the value-added tax on books. Previously, Denmark charged a 25% value-added tax on book sales, which may be the highest tax in Europe and even globally. It is expected that Denmark's value-added tax reform will result in an annual reduction of 330 million Danish kroner. Sweden, also a Nordic country, only levies a 6% value-added tax on books. In Norway, consumers are exempt from paying taxes when purchasing e-books, while retailers are required to pay value-added tax when purchasing from suppliers.