UK ebooks VAT 20%->0% 1st May 2020

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Does this mean that Amazon won't be having lower eBook prices? Customers won't know that Amazon's VAT is not UK. All they will care about is that prices have not gone down. If it
s true that Amazon's VAT is not UK VAT then Amazon will have to eat the VAT or piss off a lot of customers.

VAT on electronic goods is charged at the rate at the customer's location, not the supplier's.

Whether Amazon are selling to the UK from their UK subsidiary or their Luxembourg subsidiary doesn't matter. There is no longer a VAT component in the prices.

For example, if a business bought a ebook reference in April for £120 (=£100 + £20 VAT), they could reclaim the £20 of VAT paid to Amazon on their next VAT return. The same book bought in May for £120 (=£120 + £0 VAT) and they would not be able to reclaim any VAT, because no VAT was paid.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

VAT on electronic goods is charged at the rate at the customer's location, not the supplier's.

Whether Amazon are selling to the UK from their UK subsidiary or their Luxembourg subsidiary doesn't matter. There is no longer a VAT component in the prices.

For example, if a business bought a ebook reference in April for £120 (=£100 + £20 VAT), they could reclaim the £20 of VAT paid to Amazon on their next VAT return. The same book bought in May for £120 (=£120 + £0 VAT) and they would not be able to reclaim any VAT, because no VAT was paid.

So how did Amazon make such a really bad deal?

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

So how did Amazon make such a really bad deal?

As I recall, the big publishers all got together and decided not to sell to Amazon unless Amazon accepted a contract under which the publishers set the retail price of their ebooks.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

As I recall, the big publishers all got together and decided not to sell to Amazon unless Amazon accepted a contract under which the publishers set the retail price of their ebooks.

What about Google and Kobo that still have VAT level prices?

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

What about Google and Kobo that still have VAT level prices?

I suspect that they just haven't manage to do anything about it yet. It was an incredibly sudden change, to have less than a day from announcement to having to implement it.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I suspect that they just haven't manage to do anything about it yet. It was an incredibly sudden change, to have less than a day from announcement to having to implement it.

I would hope they get it fixed within a week. I'll keep checking daily and see what happens.

[Quoth]

Tax rates can change at any budget.
Each marketplace has different rates.
I'm boggled it's not just typing a rate into a field for the marketplace!
Even Sage Accounts had that per country, all of them, 25 years ago.

[Polarpenguin]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

What about Google and Kobo that still have VAT level prices?

Looking at the prices on my Kobo wish list it doesn't look like anything has changed yet.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

When you do a search, the results still says includes VAT...

Originally Posted by stumped

example please, as I could not find one.

I saw it on every book I looked at on amazon.co.uk. Perhaps because Jon and I are in the US?

At any rate:

if vat is zero, does that make includes VAT a false statement?

That is true.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I saw it on every book I looked at on amazon.co.uk. Perhaps because Jon and I are in the US?

At any rate:



That is true.

Includes VAT is there even if you are looking from the UK. So to most customers, it looks like VAT is being charged because the prices are still the same.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Includes VAT is there even if you are looking from the UK. So to most customers, it looks like VAT is being charged because the prices are still the same.

Well, includes VAT is also accurate, because it hasn't gone away. It's been reduced to 0%.

Though I do suspect that in a few days it will disappear.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Well, includes VAT is also accurate, because it hasn't gone away. It's been reduced to 0%.

Though I do suspect that in a few days it will disappear.

0% = nothing = no VAT

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

0% = nothing = no VAT

0 is a number. It can make code cleaner, something you claim to value.

[pdurrant]

I'm glad to say that my PD titles are now showing as £0.77 at Amazon UK. This is certainly a change, as the lowest price allowed used to be higher than that.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by j.p.s

0 is a number. It can make code cleaner, something you claim to value.

Yes, I would assume the statement of "Includes VAT" means "Includes the appropriate amount of VAT". Removing it when the VAT is 0% might be neater, but, leaving it is simpler.

@JSWolf: If that statement on the book list pages is what you are basing your argument on, then you don't know. What needs to happen is for someone using the Amazon UK store to buy a book and see what it lists the VAT at during the purchase.