In Slovakia, the surprising measure taken this week by the government of the social democrat Robert Fico has triggered a real uproar. He announced that he would end the reduction of VAT applied to book sales, increasing it from 10 to 23%, relate The Guardian.
The decision was taken by Ladislav Kamenický, the Slovak Minister of Finance. He states: “Several studies have shown that books are mainly purchased by wealthy segments of the population”before adding: “So I think they can be taxed at the basic rate of 23% rather than the current 10%.”.
Discrimination against poorer readers
A statement that did not fail to trigger the sarcasm of Internet users. Many posted videos of themselves admiring the books placed on their shelves, with the music playing Money, Money, Money from the group Abba in the background.
Booksellers and publishers are also up in arms about this announcement, which they see as yet another attempt by Robert Fico to undermine the cultural sector. shaken by several waves of layoffs since coming to power in October 2023.
Juraj Heger, President of the Slovak Publishers and Booksellers Association, denounces: “This increase in VAT and therefore in the price of books will largely discriminate against the poorest readers, for whom books will become a luxury product. And of course, this will also affect booksellers, who are already experiencing difficulties.”.
An exception in the EU
With this reform, Ladislav Kamenický wants to straighten out the country’s finances. After the public deficit spiralled out of control, the Slovak government began a general increase in VAT several months ago, hoping to generate an additional 50 million euros in 2025. Only basic foodstuffs, medicines and school books are currently exempt.
So far, only Denmark has been an exception in Europe, applying up to 25% VAT on books, offset by large subsidies to publishers. In the rest of the EU, the average VAT on books is around 6%.
If the tax changes are adopted by the Slovak parliament, they will come into force in January 2025. The consequences could be disastrous: in 2009, Latvia increased VAT on books from 5% to 21%, before reversing its decision a few months later due to a significant drop in book sales.
Source: www.slate.fr
