
As part of austerity measures VAT on e-books has been raised to 21% in Spain, a move that is likely to slow growth in the nascent segment.

UK consumers pay 20% VAT on e-books but 0% on print books. The Publishers Association wants the ‘stark anomaly’ of different book taxes rectified, says Chief Executive Richard Mollet.

In 2011, 49% of e-book content online in Spain was distributed without the proper copyright holders’ permission, says El Pais’ Antonio Fraguas Garrido.

As if e-books weren’t trouble enough, in France a VAT rate increase of 5.5% to 7% on books forced many booksellers to close for two days to reprice books.
By Edward Nawotka As discussed in today’s lead story, European laws governing the sale of books vary wildly from country to country, often favoring print …
By Daniel Kalder MILAN: ”The problem in Italy and in Europe in general, is that data on e-books is scarce, says Cristina Mussinelli, a digital publishing …
Why Publishers Need to Collaborate with Tech Companies
At the Guadalajara Book Fair, Bill McCoy of the IDPF and Pablo Defendini of Safari Books encouraged publishers to abandon DRM, and set their own prices.