Submitted on Sunday 31st July 2011
Rejected on Wednesday 21st June 2017
Current status: Rejected
Rejection code: duplicate (see below for details)
Remove the VAT on e-books
Paper copies of books, newspapers and magazines are subject to a VAT rate of 0%. It is anomalous that electronic copies of these same items are subject to the current standard rate of VAT (20%). The effect of this tax is to make, in many cases, the e-book version of literature more expensive than the paper copy despite being less expensive to produce and requiring almost zero shipping costs.
The manufacture of printed paper products requires thousands of tons of raw materials and an enormous amount of energy in production and transport each year. The public is reluctant to pay more for an electronic copy than for a paper copy. Many look for a less expensive and often 'pirate' source.
By charging VAT on e-publications the government is encouraging piracy, squandering raw materials and adding to fossil fuel use.
We request that the VAT rate on e-books be set to 0%
You can't sign this petition because it was rejected. But you can still comment on it here at Repetition.me!
The Government e-Petitions Team gave the following reason:
There's already a petition about this issue. We cannot accept a new petition when we already have one about a very similar issue.
You are more likely to get action on this issue if you sign and share a single petition.
18.119.104.238 Fri, 19 Apr 2024 17:44:11 +0100
