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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 Book publishers to be exempted from sales tax next year
Books by Nobel Prize winners Peter Handke and Olga Tokarczuk are displayed in a bookstore in Taipei on Oct. 10 last year. Photo: David Chang, EPA-EFE
By Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporter
The Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Finance have reached an agreement to make books eligible for sales tax exemptions, starting next year.
The announcement on Thursday was timed to coincide with UNESCO’s World Book Day.
An amendment is to be made to the Regulations for Reducing Business and Entertainment Taxes for Cultural and Arts-related Enterprises （文化藝術事業減免營業稅及娛樂稅辦法） to allow publishers of print and digital books to apply for exemption from the 5 percent sales tax on sales of books, the culture ministry said.
It said it would partner with the National Central Library （NCL） to allow publishers to submit their tax exemption applications when they submit applications for an International Standard Book Number for a book’s print or electronic edition.
Once a publisher’s tax exemption application for a book is approved, the exemption would apply to sales of the book across all distribution and retail channels, including convenience stores, it said.
Publications are an important foundation for a nation’s cultural power, Minister of Culture Cheng Li-chiun （鄭麗君） said.
The policy proposal is a crucial step in promoting writing and publishing, developing the publishing industry and raising the cultural power of Taiwan, she added.
The culture ministry is to form a cross-agency committee with the finance ministry and the library to execute the policy, she said.
The policy is expected to take effect in the middle of next year, once an online application system has been created, she said.
Although the output of Taiwan’s publishing industry has not fallen since 2017, publishers still hope the government can help alleviate the tax burden on the industry, the culture ministry said.
Fifty-three countries — including the UK, Ireland and Argentina — offer tax exemptions or a zero percent tax rate on printed books, while South Korea, Thailand and Malaysia offer exemptions on both printed and digital publications, it said.
The ministry said it had been pushing for the policy for three years, and it hopes the measures can boost the publishing industry, and encourage more people to read and write.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
