Time for Amazon to pay

Pennines in snow

E-book sellers Amazon, Kobo and Barnes & Noble are located in Luxembourg.  In January 2012 France and Luxembourg dropped VAT rates on e-books to 3% so that the tax charged on both printed and digital books would be equal. That might seem fine, but in the UK, the tax on e-books is 20%. Infringement of the VAT rules on e-books distorts the single market and runs counter to the fundamental EU principle of fair tax competition.

Objections were put forward last October but there have beent no changes in the situation. Several Ministers and representatives of both paper and electronic publishing industries have voiced concerns over the negative effect on sales in their domestic markets, and so the EC has referred the matter to the EU Court of Justice.

It is interesting to know that Amazon requires UK publishers to pay most of the 20% VAT charge on e-book sales even though Amazon pays only 3% in Luxembourg.  It is not clear if Amazon passes on such gains to its customers. In going digital, Amazon has avoided the effects of piracy that so harassed the music industry and has no hesitation in admitting that, with all its massive clout, the company seeks the most advantageous arrangements, and is doing nothing illegal (apart from undercutting tax laws. Surely that is illegal?)

Their goal, they say, is to make it easy for readers  to obtain the books they love…and to offer greater access to those books. Well, that's fine for readers, and for Amazon. I suppose it is also great for authors. It is not so great, in fact it is hugely detrimental to UK publishers. It is common knowledge by now that though Amazon generated sales of £3.3billion via its UK website in 2012, it paid zero corporation tax to the UK on profits from that income. Over the last three years, sales have raked in more than £7.6 billion - but no corporation tax has ever been paid on profits.

All I can say is, Remember Starbucks, Amazon, and cough up.
If anyone wants to read a longer article on the subject, here's what the Guardian had to say last October: Pay up
 

 

Fictionwise and Barnes and Noble

Believe it or not the three seagulls lined up beside the ice-cream van at Whitley Bay were not the man's only customers. As we drove away a woman went and bought a fistful of ice-cream cornets. It made my teeth ache to think of eating it on such a cold day.

The news yesterday ~ Barnes & Noble have bought out Fictionwise. I have two titles there and so do many other e-published writers.

Here's a few sentences from the press release:
Barnes & Noble, Inc. the world’s largest bookseller, has acquired Fictionwise, a leader in the e-book marketplace, for $15.7 million in cash. Barnes & Noble said it plans to use Fictionwise as part of its overall digital strategy, which includes the launch of an e-Bookstore later this year.

Headquartered (another of those noun into verb contortions I've been noticing lately) in New Jersey, Fictionwise was founded in 2000 by Steve and Scott Pendergrast. Barnes & Noble intends to keep Fictionwise as a separate business unit and the founders will continue to operate the business.
Barnes & Noble, Inc. operate 799 bookstores in 50 states and (http://www.bn.com/), one of the Web’s largest e-commerce sites.

It seems that the bookworld in general is in favour of the move and sees it as another big push for the e-book market. Nathan Bransford, if I'm interpreting his blog comments correctly, sees the worldwide recession as a boost for e-books since they cost considerably than paper books at a time when people have less dosh to spend.
So, maybe a good thing for authors to keep a foot in both camps.