Quote:
Originally Posted by Sweetpea
Considering books that are for academic purposes, as long as they are on a physical carrier, were already allowed to be sold for the low VAT, I doubt it will work for digital downloads, as those are not books, but services...
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In Germany, books of any kind, not just academic ones, always had a substantially lower VAT than other goods (7% vs. 19% currently). Printed books are considered "a cultural good", but e-books aren't. Yep, they are "services" and treated much like software.
Well, regardless of what the EU decides, if you give a government a free choice between lowering the tax rate or keeping it at the present level, the chance of the former happening is somewhat slim, so nothing will likely change.
What is need is a ruling that gives e-books the same status that printed book have -- and with it, also the right to re-sell them, too.