Denmark proposes to abolish tax on books

[thewayne]

In an effort to boost reading, Denmark is proposing to abolished their 25% VAT on books, the highest tax rate on books in the world. This would hit their government revenue stream for about 330 million kroner ($51 million) a year. The culture minister hopes that this will reduce the cost of books and encourage more people to read.

Denmark's VAT rate on books is a bit out of line. From the article: "Other Nordic countries also charge a standard rate of 25% VAT, but it does not apply to books. VAT on books in Finland is 14%, in Sweden 6% and in Norway zero.

Sweden reduced its VAT on books in 2001, resulting in a rise in book sales, but analysis found they were bought by existing 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.”

A total of 8.3m books were sold in shops and online in Denmark in 2023, according to the national statistics office. The country’s population is just over 6 million.

I don't know that people are reading as much as they used to. I can pull up the numbers of how many books my library has lent over time, but if I don't have the corresponding number of how many students and teachers we've had for the same years, that raw number sadly doesn't mean much.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/20/denmark-to-abolish-vat-on-books-in-effort-to-get-more-people-reading

https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/08/22/0031247/denmark-to-abolish-vat-on-books-to-get-more-people-reading

Comments

[blue_green_dream]

That's an incredibly high tax! Hopefully the scheme works and gets more people reading. I've recently started Bookcrossing as a means of curbing my doomscrolling habit, and it's made me realize the many, many benefits that come from reading beyond just education. It'll be interesting to see how this goes.

[thewayne]

Check with your local library to see if they lend ebooks.  Also, subscribe to email lists from Storybundle.com and HumbleBundle.com: they occasionally offer some incredible ebook bundles!  There's also EarlyBirdBooks.com and BookBub.com, both offer very inexpensive books and occasionally free ones.

[blue_green_dream]

Thanks! I usually buy used books over at ThriftBooks for Bookcrossing, but I'll have to check out some of the offerings on these sites. Looks like I may be experimenting with that Kindle jailbreaking guide sooner rather than later!