Information about the contemplated increase in VAT on books from 10% to a higher rate of 13% or even 14% began to spread through the book world like a chain message. Why do booksellers and publishers react very negatively to this consideration, can it cause a decrease in the number of published books or how does the Czech Republic fare in a pan-European comparison? Book market expert Adam Pýcha from the Knihy Dobrovský company answered Bleska.
He is one of the biggest experts on the book market. He has been promoting and writing books for many years. Adam Pýcha, head of marketing and online sales at Knihy Dobrovský. Geek, occasional speaker, book addict, lover of caps and bizarre humor, chatty introvert and extroverted writer. | Shine – Tonda Tran
Why should it even be discussed that books should have a lower VAT rate? After all, it is a product and many other products do not even reach the reduced rate. What makes books special?
“I can only agree that books are goods, however, they have a number of specifics that I must emphasize here. They have been an essential part of our culture for centuries, bearers of education and values of the entire society. In the past, books were able to influence the direction of entire nations. And the state’s overall approach to books shows whether we want to be a modern and confident society or not. For that reason, it is right to create conditions under which a maximum of quality books developing civil society can be published.”
Let’s imagine that there will be an increase in the VAT rate for books. What do you think can cause this?
“This is not only my opinion, but also the Czech Booksellers’ and Publishers’ Association holds it. With the planned rate, the domestic book market would find itself under the highest taxation in the entire European Union, which is a step in exactly the opposite direction to what our republic needs. The only exception is Denmark, but the system there works quite differently. The medium-term negative impact would be really significant. In general, the offer of books in bookstores would decrease, and the number of small booksellers and small publishers would decrease further. But above all, it would have a long-term negative effect on the education of the nation and future generations.”
Information about the contemplated increase in VAT on books from 10% to a higher rate of 13% or even 14% began to spread through the book world like a chain message. Booksellers and publishers react very negatively. | lightning
Do you expect any further impact? Can it fundamentally harm us that people will read less? And would there definitely be an increase in the price of books?
“Of course it will hurt us if people read less. This may seem like a cliché in the whole discussion, but we need to realize how important books are. We can list known factors that reduce stress or improve the overall understanding of the text. The book is simply not a roll and cannot be debated like this. The book market is facing an unprecedented increase in costs, but so far this has not been reflected much in the final price of books. Our segment generally does not have large margins and there is nowhere else to take it. Any increase in VAT will have to affect the final price of the book and publishers will have to think a lot about how demanding titles they decide to invest in. All this will result in the de facto decline of the entire book market, i.e. a significant long-term decrease in the supply of books.”
So are you saying that fewer large graphic publications or children’s books can be published?
“Yes exactly. Large, expensive picture publications, academic and specialist books, but above all a number of children’s books, which are richly illustrated and must be top-quality, will not be published in such a wide range or the publishers will not start their realization at all. All these types of publications always have a very complex economic model and their return may not be high or even non-existent. But it is absolutely necessary for such titles to be published. At the same time, it is extremely important to sell leisure literature, under which we can imagine various romances or Nordic thrillers. A rich and strong book market can ensure that titles can also be published, thanks to which publishers will not have to look only at profit, but above all at the diversity of the book offer and its quality. Let’s make a move to slim down that market, and the result will be bad mainly for readers.”
However, we must not forget the fact that the domestic economy is facing problems that no one could have expected. Isn’t this a pan-European trend?
“No way. Even at this moment, VAT on books in the Czech Republic is rather high. We can look at a number of countries that have five percent or even zero VAT on books. And the trend is clear. VAT on books should rather be reduced, because it turns out that an investment in a healthy book market is an investment in our future. It is also important to remember that, despite the fact that the book market is not nearly as large compared to other fields, its global importance is enormous and has a real impact on the overall performance of our economy. If this planned change comes to pass, we will be among the very few states that do not understand the value of books, and on the contrary, we will throw sticks under his feet. We are ready to intensively remind all people of this, even with the help of the slogan, the so-called hashtag #knihanenirohlik on social networks.”