Fight for a Lower VAT Unites Politicians

autor zdjęcia: Tomasz Jodłowski

źródło: Fotorzepa

High rate of the digital content tax is painful for publishers and bothers politicians

Media | Members of European Parliaments representing different parties support the fight of publishers for the lowering of the VAT rate on digital content.

Anita Błaszczak, Maciej Rudke

It is necessary to immediately correct the mistake, so expensive to publishers, made by the EU four years ago that imposed the basic VAT rate on electronic versions of newspapers, although the paper editions are treated on a preferential basis in terms of taxes. This is the joint conclusion of the participants of the panel organised by 'Rz', focused on the discrimination of the electronic content. In Poland the difference is nearly threefold. The traditional, paper editions are taxed with VAT at the rate of 8%, but the electronic version – of 23%. The panel's chairman, Bogusław Chrabota, the editor-in-chief of 'Rz', reminded that the migration of content to the Internet is in progress. Why is taxation so unequal? This is the fault of the EU state authorities.

Professor Zbigniew Czachór representing the Adam Mickiewicz University mentioned that in 2009, the Council of the European Union (all 27 Member States at that time) unanimously voted for the basic VAT rate to be imposed on electronic content...

Encouragement to Pirates

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