Many people today download their reading material as an E-Book (Electronic Book). These products are charged a VAT rate of 20% in the UK. By comparison, traditional print books are exempt from Value Added Tax all together. E-books offer many advantages over print books in terms of lessened logistical and environmental impact, cheaper availability of knowledge, and greater disability accessibility.

Her Majesty's Treasury has already been petitioned on this issue in 2014 and has determined that “The sale of a digital book is classified as an electronic service and attracts the standard rate of VAT under EU law. Legal advice obtained by the government indicates there is no scope to change the VAT treatment of the sale of digital book and similar products under EU law”.

We ask the petition recipients to raise the issue of E-Book VAT classification in the current parliament, next parliament and European Union. We hope to have E-Books reclassified as books rather than a digital service by the EU, allowing the standard UK rate of VAT to be abolished on E-Books.

This would make a great difference to the lives of everyone who values pixels over paper. This would especially help people with disabilities who may have difficulty in travelling to brick and mortar shops, and students who may have difficulty affording online shipping costs.

Let's try somewhere different than the Treasury as they don't wish to take up this issue in Europe. This petition will be sent to the Prime Minster, the Education Secretary, the Business, Innovation and Skills Secretary and the EU Commission.

For more information on this issue:

http://tinyurl.com/abolish-the-20-reading-tax