Proposal of the Bulgarian PEN-Center and the creative unions for the Bulgarian book – to abolish VAT – 2024-02-16 16:05:56

/ world today news/ Proposal of the Bulgarian PEN-Center and the creative unions for the Bulgarian book – to abolish the VAT /killer tax/ – now the highest in Europe – 20%

Ex. No. 6/ 6.12.2019 Sofia

To Mrs Tsveta KarayanchevaChairman of the National Assembly

Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria

To Mr Boyko BorisovPrime Minister

of the Republic of Bulgaria

To Mr Vladislav GoranovMinister of Finance

To Mr Boyle BanovMinister of Culture

To Mr Krasimir ValchevMinister of Education and Science

PROPOSAL TO ABOLISH VAT ON BOOKS, TEXTBOOKS, STUDY AIDS AND PRINTED PUBLICATIONS

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,

We are addressing you with great concern for the Bulgarian book, culture and spirituality. Over the past three decades, illiteracy has increased sharply in our country, the readership has decreased, and this is largely due to the high prices of Bulgarian books, teaching aids and printed publications. Bulgarian textbooks (free up to grade 7) remain expensive for the high school course. And if before the transition we were among the most reading countries in the world, with the lowest prices and accessibility to books, now it is just the opposite. The statistics show very alarming data.

One of the main reasons for this negative trend is the high rate of VAT – one of the highest in the countries of the European Union. Here is a reference on book tax in Europe:

England and Ireland – 0%

Luxembourg – 3%

Italy, Spain – 4%

Romania, Croatia, Cyprus, Malta, Poland, Hungary – 5%

France – 5.5%

Greece, Sweden, Netherlands, Portugal, Belgium, Greece – 6%

Germany – 7%

Estonia, Lithuania – 9%

Slovenia – 9.5%

Austria, Slovakia, Finland – 10%

Latvia – 12%

Czech Republic – 15%

Bulgaria – 20%

And in Turkey, which is outside the EU, it is already 0%! And if a book in neighboring Romania costs BGN 5, in our country the price of the same volume and printing is at least BGN 12. The prices of native textbooks and aids are also high, which makes it difficult for a large part of the population. In short: the book has become unavailable to Bulgarians today.

It is a problem for libraries in the country, even for those in big cities, to get the new books because of the high prices and their limited subsidies.

Publishing books in our country is becoming more and more difficult – the ever-increasing prices of printing and paper have forced our publishers to print their products in distant China! High taxes, the heaviest of which is VAT (called by the publishers and the public the “killer tax” of the Bulgarian book and spirituality!), copyrights, large commercial discounts for distributors (up to 50%) – all this made it more expensive and difficult book publishing. The authors and translators are wronged and receive a minimal percentage for their hard creative work, if at all the book is sold on the book market at these prices that do not correspond to the native living standard. Some publishers force Bulgarian authors to pay for publishing their works, declaring them unsellable. The basis of all this is the final high price, in the formation of which 20% VAT is charged at each stage. According to statistics, Bulgarians spend only BGN 10 per year on books. In all EU countries, as well as in a number of other countries outside of it, the book benefits from a preferential VAT rate. No matter how paradoxical it sounds, in our country tourism and gambling enjoy preferences!

Therefore, we urge you to review the Law on VAT on publishing products. We propose to accept 0% VAT for textbooks and study aids, 5% for books by Bulgarian authors, 7% for translated books. A reduced rate of VAT is the best support from the state, so that the industry can have more funds to invest in decent royalties to writers, illustrators, translators, etc., in a more diverse publishing output, in better quality printing, in better distribution and access to the book, as well as in initiatives to support reading.

This letter is supported by all members of the Bulgarian P.E.N-Center. With the hope that the Bulgarian book will survive!

BULGARIAN P.E.N.-center: ZDRAVKA EVTIMOVA, chairman

The initiative is supported by:

UNION OF BULGARIAN WRITERS – Dr. Boyan Angelov, chairman

UNION OF TRANSLATORS IN BULGARIA – Veselina Raizhekova, chairman

UNION OF INDEPENDENT WRITERS – Academician Marin Kadiev, chairman

ASSOCIATION OF BULGARIAN WRITERS – Prof. Mihail Nedelchev, chairman

UNION OF BULGARIAN JOURNALISTS – Snezhana Todorova, chairman

UNION OF PUBLIC READINGS – Dr. Nikolay Doinov, chairman

BULGARIAN BOOK ASSOCIATION” – Velizara Dobreva, chairman