Writer Sanctum
Writer's Haven => Marketing Loft [Public] => Topic started by: German Translator on October 06, 2018, 09:36:20 AM
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https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-tax-ebooks/eu-agrees-on-lower-sales-tax-for-e-books-online-papers-idUSKCN1MC0UH?il=0
LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) - European Union finance ministers decided on Tuesday to allow lower sales taxes on e-books and other digital publications and to align them to reduced levies applied to paper versions of books and magazines.
The deal will allow EU states to apply reduced or even zero VAT rates to electronic publications, which are currently taxed at a minimum of 15 percent because they are treated as electronic services.
“This proposal is part of our efforts to modernize VAT for the digital economy, and enables us to keep pace with technological progress,” said Austrian Finance Minister Hartwig Loeger, who chaired the meeting.
The agreement comes after more than two years of talks after a European Commission proposal. The European Parliament supported the plan a year ago.
“This is good news for the press and for the culture sector,” EU Economic Commissioner Pierre Moscovici commented on Twitter after the deal was reached.
Very low or zero rates will only be allowed “for member states that currently apply them to physical publications,” the EU Council said in a note.
The new rules will apply temporarily until a comprehensive reform of the VAT system in the EU is approved.
The overhaul proposed by the Commission would give EU states more flexibility in setting VAT rates.
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Thanks for sharing this. I saw this on that other forum. I'm going to take a wait and see approach.
I sell enough books in the UK and Germany to worry about the VAT rate. I made the decision a while back to adjust the price per book for my series in the EU to account for the VAT fee for each state. I wasn't particularly interested in making less per sale than the US. It makes my books more expensive in the EU. But it hasn't impacted sales in the UK. Not sure about Germany. BUt I sell ten times more books in the UK than I do Germany.
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I doubt it's your price, because Germans are less price sensitive with regard to books than Americans. However, your books are in English and the subject matter is very American, so that naturally limits your audience.
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I doubt it's your price, because Germans are less price sensitive with regard to books than Americans. However, your books are in English and the subject matter is very American, so that naturally limits your audience.
So true. My books do have a certain regional appeal. In some respects, that makes me "Riding a Llama" happy :banana-riding-llama-smiley-em that nearly ten percent of my readers are not in the US.
Because of the regional appeal, I doubt I'll go looking for someone to translate the book into other languages. I would have a hard time seeing that effort pay for itself.
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This is very good news for me, as I've invested heavily in German translations. The VAT rates do hurt, as I simply end up eating the tax, rather than trying to sell above the optimum price point.
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I simply end up eating the tax, rather than trying to sell above the optimum price point.
Don't we all
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This great news! Thanks for the info.
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This is very good news for me, as I've invested heavily in German translations. The VAT rates do hurt, as I simply end up eating the tax, rather than trying to sell above the optimum price point.
The reduced print book VAT rate in Germany is 7%, so that would really help. Though considering how much our current government has been preoccupied with stupid squabbles, I'm not holding my breath for them to change it anytime soon. Pensions and housing are simply more important agenda items.
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For most of us, it should simply mean that our prices will remain the same, but the tax element will be reduced at source meaning a larger royalty.
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I sell quite well on Europe, so these are great news! I find that people in Europe don't mind paying more for the books.
e.g. selling book for $14.99 and for €13.99 rather than an accurate conversion (€12.99)