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Originally Posted by thewitt
I'm not in favor of taxes as a social weapon, but I know many people are.
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Taxing at the standard VAT rate does not translate to taxing as a social weapon.
If the EU policy is any kind of weapon, it is the tax break for paper that is a weapon -- one aimed at keeping traditional paper-focused bookstores from being put out of business by multi-nationals like Amazon.
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There are no used bookstores with the thousands of titles you can find for $0.99 in the big cities of the US. These people download eBooks and read them on their phones.
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No used bookstores, combined with high smartphone penetration among the poor, is a legitimate reason to tax eBooks at less than the standard VAT rate.
When I purchased my first Kindle in 2010, I think eBooks appealed to a much higher US/Canada/UK income bracket than paper book purchasers, who, as you note, often buy used. Looking at who is reading eBooks on my daily commute, I suspect this still is true in my area. France? Luxembourg? I don't know.