Angela Mills Wade, Executive Director of the European Publishers Council, welcomed the Commission’s announcement today of a legislative proposal that would enable Member States to reduce VAT rates for e-publications such as e-books and online newspapers.
Angela said: “We have long campaigned for e-publications to be treated the same as offline editions whereby Members States can treat the two editions equally. Existing reduced or zero-rated VAT on newspapers can now be extended to online editions, creating a level playing field, fair competition and bringing VAT into the 21st Century digital world we live in.”
Today’s proposals follow commitments made by the European Commission in the Digital Single Market (DSM) strategy for Europe and the Action Plan towards a single EU VAT area.
Angela continued: “We call on Member States to use this opportunity to support consumer access to the widest range of professional news media throughout Europe. In the wake of recent fake news scandals, access to trusted brands from Europe’s publishers that take editorial responsibility seriously is more important than ever. The world has gone digital since VAT rules were last revised and this proposal acknowledges the new reality.”
These legislative proposals will now be submitted to the European Parliament for consultation (although MEPs cannot make any decisions on this issue) and to the Council (which has to decide unanimously) for adoption.
The European Commission’s news release on the proposal can be read here: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-16-4010_en.htm
And the proposed directive here: https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/sites/taxation/files/com_2016_758_en.pdf
For further information, please contact Heidi Lambert on Tel: +44 1245 476 265 or Angela Mills Wade on Tel: +44 1865 310 732
