The European Union Flag. Shared image by Blog Sinerrata Editores, used with permission.
On March 5, 2015, the European Union Court of Justice ruled [1] that the reduced value-added tax (VAT) established for printed books should not apply to digital books, considering [2] everything distributed or delivered electronically or via Internet as a service. Amalia Lopez questions [3] the resolution on the Blog Sinerrata Editores:
Lo que más me ha llamado la atención es que refuerzan la decisión utilizando el argumento del soporte, […] que igual tuvo sentido en algún momento del pasado pero hoy en día me resulta completamente absurdo. Es verdad, el libro electrónico es un archivo no un objeto pero, ¿es un libro menos libro porque lo guardo en mi ordenador o mi lector electrónico en vez de en la estantería? ¿Cuándo leo un libro digital la experiencia cultural es menor que cuando es un libro de papel? Es decir, lo que este tribunal ha sentenciado (o esa es mi interpretación) es que lo que hace de un libro un producto cultural y por tanto merecedor de un impuesto reducido (y un menor coste para los consumidores) es el papel en el que está impreso.
What struck me was that they used the format as an argument to reinforce their decision, […] which maybe could have made sense at some point in the past, but nowadays, I find it completely absurd. It is true, an e-book is a file and not an object, but does it make a book less of a book if I keep it on my computer or my e-reader rather than on the book shelf? When I read a digital book, is the cultural experience lesser than when a read the book on paper? That is to say, what this court has ruled (or, at least, that's my interpretation) is that what makes a book a cultural product, thus deserving reduced tax (and a lower cost to its consumers), is the paper on which is printed.
The sentence includes [4] books downloaded or viewed online and encompasses electronic formats for computers, smartphones, e-readers or any reading devices.
You can read more on the subject on Amalia Lopez's post [3] for Sinerrata Editors, and follow them on Twitter: @Sinerrata [5].