This year's Spring Book Bazaar is held under the motto "9% VAT on books for a more literate and educated nation". This was the topic of the discussion, which took place on June 2 at 11:00 in the yellow tent of the Literary Corner, located in the park in front of the National Palace of Culture. Dimitar Atanasov, Alek Popov, Manol Peykov, Stoyo Vartolomeev and Tereza Zaharieva talked about the reduced VAT rate on books and its effects on society and the industry, why it is important that it becomes permanent and what benefits all Bulgarians will have from this in the long term.
We remind you that from July 1, 2020, a reduced VAT rate of 9% was introduced on books. The law stipulates that the measure will be temporary and will be in effect until the end of 2021. The Bulgarian Book Association is organizing a campaign to make the reduced rate a permanent measure, as is the case in the member states of the European Union. Part of the campaign is the discussion “9% VAT on books for a more literate and educated nation”. But let's still pay attention to the discussion itself and what the participants said (to each other).
Stoyo Vartolomeev brought back memories from 15 years ago and, to be honest, if he hadn't mentioned it, I wouldn't have remembered it either. In the summer of 2006 (yes, 2006!) publishers piled their books in front of the Parliament and used them to build a symbolic wall to show their position before the people's (our) representatives. Even then, a petition was being signed to lower the VAT rate to 9%, and I, although I wasn't into books yet, was there and solemnly handed out a pen and a petition to every passerby. The petition was not honored, and the books were distributed to everyone who walked along the yellow cobblestones of Sofia. Today we meet again on the topic, somewhat symbolically in a yellow tent, to say that nothing has changed, our dear readers.
We are the same people, the dear VAT... as well
It seems that nothing more was said or built upon in the discussion.
I really want to be honest with you and point out that this conversation initially seemed completely pointless. The simple table with a bunch of flowers in a hat was missing only glasses of beer, Shopska salad and kebabs, so that we would feel like we were at a friendly meeting, where world problems are being clarified and the location of the planets is being rearranged. Neither in the discussion nor in the audience was there a representative of the Ministry of Culture or the Ministry of Finance, and this is the organizers' mistake. Yes, I know that we have a temporary government, which does not bode well, but when you have a representative on the issue you are talking about, then your thesis makes sense. Otherwise, it becomes like that lonely tree in the forest, where it keeps falling and no one is listening to it. It's a pity how much effort this tree puts in. As Svetoslav Zhelev himself noted minutes before the start, "so who are we going to have this discussion with, let's go."
And while I strongly believe that the intellectual work and culture of future generations should be the number one priority of our beloved homeland, I equally strongly believe that turning a blind eye does nothing but make the situation more nervous. Because there were exactly 10 people in the audience at this meeting, with only Ralitsa Ficheva from DNEVNIK not being from the organization and being a journalist. Why? Because no one listens to the idea that “someone doesn’t want to pay their VAT,” Damyan Yakov noted, and I admit, even I can’t formulate it so nicely.
Here, Manol Peykov shared the following: with an 11% discount on a book that costs 15 leva, he won’t earn anything (i.e., he will earn 1.65 leva). But he will be able to afford to have an editor for each book, and in the past year he has raised the rate from 7 to 10 leva per page (i.e., by 43%). I don't know if it's true or not, I hope it is and I hope he follows through with this idea, if not for the money, then at least for having an editor.
Because having culture, having books and having a reading nation is something we should strive for, not abuse. The added value in the image of an intelligent person is worth much more than 1.65 leva. Then…
Why do it, you might ask, when we are talking about pennies?
Because this is a matter of identity and European belonging, because… In Norway, Great Britain, Ireland, Ukraine, Albania the percentage is 0%, in Switzerland it is 2.5%, Luxembourg it is 3%, in Italy and Spain it is 4%, in Poland, Malta, Hungary, Croatia and Cyprus it is 5%, in France it is 5.5%, in Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden it is 6%, in Greece – 6.5%, in Germany it is 7%, in Turkey – 8%, in Romania, Lithuania and Estonia – 9%, in Slovenia – 9.5%, in the Czech Republic, Austria, Finland, Slovakia and Serbia – 10%, in Iceland it is 11%, in Denmark it is 25%.
Alek Popov wished one day that the rate would become 0%, and we wish that this issue would ever enter the plenary hall. “God forbid that this happens after the end of this year, because then it will be much easier for them to bring back the old VAT, and it will be harder for us to fight to get it removed again,” said experienced MP Manol Peykov.
At the end of this rather long article, we remind you that all visitors to the Spring Book Bazaar will have the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the petition with which publishers and booksellers call on the public to support the preservation of a lower VAT rate on books as a permanent measure and to sign it online. The petition, initiated by the Bulgarian Book Association, is now available here and can be signed by anyone who wishes to support books and reading.
The collected signatures will be sent to the institutions to serve as an additional argument in making a decision to preserve the reduced VAT rate on books and implement other policies to support reading.
Text and photos: Milena Radeva
Add comment