Books are ‘mostly’ for rich people, Slovak government shrugs as it puts up VAT

Slovak government plans to increase the country’s value-added tax (VAT) rate on books from 10 percent to 23 percent have drawn criticism from the country’s publishers, political opposition and university students.

“Books, according to our analysis, are mostly purchased by wealthier segments of the population, so they will be taxed at the [highest VAT] rate,” Finance Minister Ladislav Kamenický said, triggering a wave of mocking memes.

The Slovak Publishers and Booksellers Association, however, said that surveys in Slovakia have consistently found that middle class consumers are the principal buyers of books.

“At the same time, there are surprisingly many buyers even among pensioners and people with lower incomes. Every obstacle that the state puts in the way of publishing and selling books is reflected in a smaller number of books published, bought and therefore read. The reduction will affect not only commercial titles but also the original work of Slovak authors,” the association said on its website.

Kamenický later claimed his comments were misinterpreted and said he wants Slovak society to be as educated as possible, noting he has proposed lowering the VAT rate on school textbooks from 10 percent to 5 percent.

The measures are part of a wider consolidation package introduced this week by the government of PM Robert Fico and containing 17 measures to address Slovakia’s excessive budget deficit, which is expected to come in at 6 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) for 2024. The Cabinet proposed Tuesday to lower the deficit to 4.7 percent of GDP next year partly by raising VAT across the economy, primarily affecting entrepreneurs.

Slovakia and six other European Union member countries were recently criticized by the European Commission for spending too much. The EU treaties require that countries maintain a budget deficit of under 3 percent of GDP, but in 2023 11 of the 27 member countries were in violation of the rule.

Following public outrage in Slovakia over the proposed tax rise on books, Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok said the government would revisit the measure, acknowledging that it “has caused some commotion.”

Should it go ahead with the tax plan, Slovakia would have one of the highest VAT rates on books in the EU, behind only Denmark with 25 percent.

Fico’s leftist-populist government, which returned to power last October, has previously targeted the culture sector by dismissing senior figures at the country’s major arts institutions.