Electronic Publishing: VAT

(asked on 2nd September 2019) - View Source

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential effect of zero-rating VAT on digital publications on the literacy of (a) young boys and (b) children on free schools meals who prefer to read on screen.


Answered by
Jesse Norman Portrait
Jesse Norman
This question was answered on 5th September 2019

The Government keeps all taxes under review, including VAT.

Any amendments to the VAT regime as it applies to physical publications and e-publications must be carefully assessed against policy, economic and fiscal considerations. Any representations on this issue will be considered as part of the fiscal events process.

The impact on literacy of any reduction of VAT on e-publications is likely to depend on commercial decisions about the extent to which any tax saving would lead to price reductions for consumers, and any associated behavioural changes.

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