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Originally Posted by ApK
But seriously, how did the consumers get screwed? They didn't see a price decrease, but they wouldn't have anyway, so "same either way" can't be seen as getting screwed.
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I guess it's how you choose to see. Government cut VAT. Consumers got nothing, corporate publishers took it all.
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Plus, in theory, book prices are now more susceptible to market pressures, and publishers can't hide behind the VAT for an excuse, so it STILL may lead to that benefit.
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No, this has not happened. E-book prices have gone up. Double-screwed. It's Amazon's fault, according to one of the corporations that is benefiting from the VAT windfall.
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Plus, if it really does lower the barrier to entry in the market and give consumers more choices, making it, as they say, "as easy as possible for people across the UK to get hold of the books they want" in some degree, isn't that a benefit to consumers?
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I guess it might help indies and small publishers to undercut the big five, if they decide not to pocket the VAT as well. Have prices for non-big five e-books dropped?