Slovenia cuts e-book VAT to 9.5%

Slovenia is the latest European Union member state to agree to reclassify the VAT liability on income from the supplies of electronic books from its standard VAT rate to its reduced rate. From 2020, e-books and electronic journals will be subject to 9.5% instead of 22%. This harmonises the rate on electronic publications with that on their printed equivalent. 

The country joins over 10 other states that have cut their VAT rates on e-books. This follows the agreement by member states in 2018 to modify the VAT Directive to permit this.

Previously, the Directive’s Annex III had only permitted a VAT subsidy to physical books. This was because of the limited list of goods and services entitled to reduced rates was drawn-up many years before the development of e-books.