Non-US Kindle wireless delivery charge dropped

[thinkpad]

Originally Posted by HarryT

In the UK, as in the rest of the EU, eBooks are charged the "standard" rate of VAT, in accordance with the EU's eCommerce VAT directive. This is the law throughout the EU.

Paper books, on the other hand, are "zero rated" for VAT (not exempt from it, but charged at 0%. There is a difference, apparently).

Crazy politicians. In Norway the big publishers are holding back the e-book development because of the difference in VAT between the e-book and paper book. A fellow joint venture book portal with Norwegian authors were supposed to launch in march but has been put on hold because of the VAT rules. The question has been up for political discussion several times but the current finance minister of Norway isn't willing to treat e-books equal to paper books. As things stand at the moment it doesn't look good.

[rogue_librarian]

But of course the cartel price fixing for books applies to ebooks as well, at least in Germany... talk about cherry picking.

[Mike L]

Originally Posted by neilmarr

I was running a freelance press agency on Merseyside when VAT came in, Harry. I think it was around 1972. .....

I was interested in your remarks and reminiscences, Neil.

I was working for a software company at that time. The introduction of VAT gave us a huge amount of business - even more than decimalisation which came in a couple of years earlier. The tax actually started in 1973, if I remember right.

Contrary to what most people think (including your friend Charlie Chaplin), the principles of VAT are extremely simple. It was the paperwork that was complicated. But, to be fair, it has been greatly simplified over the years. The quarterly return was originally four pages, but it's now been reduced to one page, and many businesses don't even have to do it every quarter. There are also several simpler reporting systems for small businesses.

What gave VAT its reputation for complexity is, I think, the list of anomalies and exceptions and special cases. The classic example was the Jaffa Cake. Is it an item of food (and therefore zero-rated) or confectionery (which is positive-rated)?

You can see how that's persisted with books. Printed books are zero-rated, but electronic books aren't.

These days, I do the VAT for my own small businesses. It takes at most five minutes once per quarter. It's really very easy.

[SensualPoet]

Originally Posted by lene1949

Only the 'free' ones seem to not have the $2 whispernet fee.

This is the explanation I am beginning to accept as well. It is a start -- I'll grant that.

I'd still prefer the Whispernet surcharge, if necessary, was both a LOT less and vaguely reflective of file size or base price of the ebook.

I'd be "happy" to buy a copy of Agatha Christie's The Murder of Roger Ackroyd -- now 84 years since original publication -- at a lower-end paperback price. And here's where the surcharge bites Amazon on the virtual "backend": Amazon will sell it to me for $6.79; Kobo will sell it to me for $4.99 ($5.24 inc. tax). A title like this ... yah, $5 is acceptable. But please don't add ANOTHER $2 in delivery surcharges.

[Blue Tyson]

Hah.

Bittorrent - where you only pay by the byte!