Quote:
Originally Posted by bevdeforges
There's also the factor that in much of Europe books are subject to a lower VAT rate (it's only 5.5% in France vs. 19.6% on most other stuff). A holdover from the days when the government controlled all forms of communication - from newspapers to telephone, telegraph and the post office. However, e-books are taxed as "electronic files" or some such nonsense and so are subject to the full VAT rate.
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Which may explain why ebooks arent as popular in Europe compared to other parts of the world. Paying around 14% more in VAT may not compare well with printed book prices.