Spain among European countries with lowest VAT on books, as Slovakia u-turns on raising tax

Slovakia's far-right government had planned to raise the VAT on books from 10% to 23%, but after widespread backlash and social media campaigns, it reversed its decision. Instead of increasing the tax, Slovakia has now proposed reducing VAT on books to 5%, just one percentage point higher than Spain's.

Spain is among the EU member states and the United Kingdom with the lowest VAT on books, enjoying a super-reduced tax of 4% since 1995. Previously, Spain had a 0% VAT on books from 1986 (the year it joined the EU) until 1993, when it rose to 3%. Two years later, the VAT increased by one percentage point to 4%.

Books, newspapers, and other essential items benefit from this super-reduced tax. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, e-books and digital formats were subject to the standard VAT rate of 21%, but this was later reduced to 4%.

According to data from the European and International Booksellers Federation (EIBF) and the Federation of European Publishers, Spain is among the European countries with the lowest VAT on books. The United Kingdom, Norway, Ireland, and the Czech Republic are the only countries that do not tax book purchases. Meanwhile, Luxembourg and Cyprus (3%) and Spain and Italy (4%) have super-reduced rates.

The backlash in Slovakia began after its finance minister, Ladislav Kamenický, stated that "wealthier segments of the population primarily purchase books, so they will be taxed at the basic rate," as reported by The Slovak Spectator.

Following the controversy, authorities dropped the proposed tax hike and announced that the new VAT would be among the lowest in Europe. Slovakia will now join the group of 15 countries with a VAT on books of 5% or lower.

On the other hand, Denmark has the highest VAT on books, with a standard rate of 25%, making it the only European country with such a high tax on books. Iceland follows with an 11% VAT, and Serbia, Finland, Austria, and Slovakia all have a 10% rate.