EBU welcomes EC proposal to allow audio books to enjoy reduced VAT rates
On Monday July 7th 2008, the European Commission presented proposals to allow Member States to apply reduced VAT rates to certain goods and services. The European Blind Union (EBU) particularly welcomes the addition of audio books, defined as ‘CDs, CD-ROMs or any physical support that predominantly reproduce the same information content as printed books’, to the list.
For a great many blind, vision impaired and other print disabled people, audio is often the only format through which a given title can be accessed. Yet, at the moment, audio books carry VAT at the highest rate, while their print counterparts benefit from zero or reduced rates.
However unintentionally, the current VAT regime discriminates against all blind and print disabled people, while at the same time it acts as a discouragement to the development of the audio book market. Books are central to the acquisition of literacy, education and knowledge for all, and blind and other print disabled people should not be excluded from accessing this wealth because they cannot afford to buy audio books or because there are not enough of them.
In welcoming the EC announcement, Lord Colin Low of Dalston the EBU president, said “we are very pleased that member states may now apply reduced VAT rates to audio books. We will continue to work with the Commission and the Council to ensure this proposal is approved”. NCBI will be watching this development and will advocate for its introduction at the earliest possible date.