E-books
E-books: Developments and Policy Considerations (OECD Insights)
Books are undergoing a massive transformation from being a physical object to something electronic, or an “e-book”. And while e-book sales still make up only a small proportion of book sales (1% in most OECD countries, 2-3% in the United Kingdom and 8% in the United States), consumers spent an estimated USD 966 million on them in 2010. By 2015, the industry is anticipated to nearly triple to almost USD 3 billion. Just as notable is the recent dramatic rate of growth in OECD markets for e-books; for example, on 19 May 2011, Amazon announced that its sales of e-books had overtaken sales of all forms of print books combined.
Ongoing policy issues related to e-books include differing tax rates in countries between physical books and e-books, consumer lock-in to specific platforms, limitations on how users can read and share their purchased content, laws prohibiting discounting of e-books, and a lack of transparency about how personal data on reading habits is being used.
Value added tax (VAT) rates for printed books and e-books
Selected countries, 2011
| Country |
VAT printed book |
VAT e-book |
| Italy |
4% |
21% |
| France |
5.5% |
7% |
| Germany |
7% |
19% |
| United Kingdom |
0 |
20% |
| Spain |
4% |
18% |
| Luxembourg |
3% |
15% |
| Sweden |
6% |
25% if purchased online |




That is the fitting weblog for anyone who needs to find out about this topic.
Hi, i read your blog from time to time; your assistance is very much appreciated.
One can definitely see your expertise within the work you write. The sector hopes for even more passionate writers such as you who aren’t afraid to mention how they believe.
You have brought up very excellent details.
There are certainly a variety of details like that to take into consideration. That is a great point to bring up. I offer the ideas above as common inspiration but clearly there are questions just like the one you bring up the place the most important thing will be working in trustworthy good faith. I don’t know if best practices have emerged around things like that, but I am positive that your job is clearly identified as a fair game.