“Those countries that have not already done so should take the next step and zero rate books,” said Borghino. “We believe a zero VAT/GST rate to be the best way to support reading, education and a thriving knowledge economy.”

Borghino said that “in many countries e-books continue to be subject to an unwarranted discrimination that neglects technological developments”.

“Even where printed books are zero-rated or have reduced rates of VAT/GST, e-books are deemed to incur a higher rate purely because they are delivered digitally,” he said. “This distinction is holding back the development of the e-book market in general, and especially in non-English and small-language markets.

E-book VAT ‘holds back small markets’