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Originally Posted by Andrew H.
I took a look at the book price law, but it didn't really distinguish between e-books and regular books
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Actually, sec. 2 (1) lit. 3 of the applicable "Law on the National Book Price Maintenance" (
Buchpreisbindungsgesetz) mentions "
products that reproduce or substitute books" and "must be considered predominantly typical for publishers or booksellers". (
Produkte, die Bücher ... reproduzieren oder substituieren und ... als überwiegend verlags- oder buchhandelstypisch anzusehen sind)
Originally the German Booksellers' Association argued that fixed prices do not apply to ebooks at all; they've only changed their position in 2008 (
German statement). As far as I can tell ebooks are now considered another edition of the same book; just as paperbacks don't have to cost the same as hardcovers there's of course nothing that prevents publishers from setting a lower price for their ebooks as opposed to pbooks.
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a lot of the articles on e-books in Germany mention that they are more expensive because they have to pay the software VAT and not the book VAT.
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Yes, pbooks are taxed at a reduced rate of 7% VAT while ebooks are onsidered "software" with the full rate of 19%.
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(Although of course the fact that publishers could charge less for e-books doesn't mean that they are).
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They don't, as a rule. Publishers who fear cannibalization of the lucrative HC market set ebook prices artificially high.