Books to be VAT exempt in Denmark to promote reading
In a bid to encourage more people to read, Denmark will make books exempt from VAT. Currently, VAT is at 25% on books, the highest of any country and a policy that the government believes contributes to an increasing “reading crisis.”
Culture minister, Jakob Engel-Schmidt, announced earlier this week that the government would propose a removal of the tax on books in its budget bill. It is expected to cost the nation 330 million (£38 million) annually.
“This is something that I, as minister of culture, have worked for, because I believe that we must put everything at stake if we are to end the reading crisis that has unfortunately been spreading in recent years,” Engel-Schmidt told the Ritzau news agency . “I am incredibly proud. It is not every day that one succeeds in convincing colleagues that such massive money should be spent on investing in the consumption and culture of the Danes.”
Other Nordic countries also charge VAT at a standard rate of 25% with book purchases facing lower rates. In Finland, buying a book comes with 14% VAT, in Sweden it’s 6%, and in Norway has abolished it. Sweden reduced the rate on books in 2001, leading to a rise in sales. But analysis found that they were being bought by existing, rather than new readers.
“It is also about getting literature out there,” said Engel-Schmidt. “That is why we have already allocated money for strengthened cooperation between the country’s public libraries and schools, so that more children can be introduced to good literature.”
In 2023, Denmark, with a population of just over 6 million, saw book sales, both in shops and online, total 8.3 million, according to its national statistics office. Picture, activity, and books for the very young were the most popular, followed by crime, thrillers, and suspense novels.
If prices do not fall, the government would reconsider if it was the right decision, Engel-Schmidt said. “I will of course monitor how prices develop. If it turns out that abolishing VAT only means that publishers’ profits grow and prices do not fall, then we must consider whether it was the right thing to do,” he said.
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