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Is this Karma for Amazon

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    Is this Karma for Amazon

    Amazon to be stripped of tax advantage on sale of ebooks | Technology | The Guardian

    It's about time something like this happened
    In Scooter we trust

    #2
    There is no VAT on physical books, why should there be VAT on ebooks?

    The government has failed to realise (as they often do) that the more expensive they make things through unnecessary grasping taxation the more people will opt out. Ebooks, like MP3s and Films are the perfect thing to get off the internet for free.

    Comment


      #3
      I will resist the temptation this time.
      bloggoth

      If everything isn't black and white, I say, 'Why the hell not?'
      John Wayne (My guru, not to be confused with my beloved prophet Jeremy Clarkson)

      Comment


        #4
        The European commission – which oversees European Union law as the EU's executive arm – on Wednesday gave Luxembourg 30 days to increase its VAT rate on digital services from 3% to 15%.
        So let's have a go at Amazon, and ignore the EU forcing countries' tax rates?

        This will close a tax loophole that has encouraged companies such as Amazon, Skype and Netflix to be based in Luxembourg to benefit from the 3% rate when selling throughout the EU
        It doesn't matter what VAT is if you get to claim it back - the only advantage is you can push retail prices down.

        Amazon recently won a case allowing them to set the prices no e-books, previously they were forced on the price by the publishers (unlike on paper books).

        So overall I don't see Aamzon as the bad guy here.
        Originally posted by MaryPoppins
        I'd still not breastfeed a nazi
        Originally posted by vetran
        Urine is quite nourishing

        Comment


          #5
          So which do you think is most likely to happen, Amazon pays 17% more tax, or the customer pays 17% more on the purchase price?
          Originally posted by Stevie Wonder Boy
          I can't see any way to do it can you please advise?

          I want my account deleted and all of my information removed, I want to invoke my right to be forgotten.

          Comment


            #6
            What about this though?

            According to a contract seen by the Guardian, Amazon starts negotiations with its publishers on the basis that the UK VAT rate of 20% must be knocked off the cost price. However, its base in Luxembourg allows it to benefit from the European tax anomaly and pay VAT at 3%. This means that Amazon can charge the difference between the UK VAT levy imposed on publishers and the 3% it actually pays, creating a supplementary profit of £1.38 a £10 ebook in Britain. It then negotiates further substantial discounts on top of the VAT subsidy, which can result in Amazon seeking a discount of up to 65% on ebooks including the phantom VAT charge.
            In Scooter we trust

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by SimonMac View Post
              So which do you think is most likely to happen, Amazon pays 17% more tax, or the customer pays 17% more on the purchase price?
              You do understand how VAT works right?
              Originally posted by MaryPoppins
              I'd still not breastfeed a nazi
              Originally posted by vetran
              Urine is quite nourishing

              Comment


                #8
                Audio books carry full VAT so why should ebooks and paper based books be any different. As my son is blind, many books don't make it into Braille format, and if they do, they are literally massive in terms of their size. We buy our son loads of audio books and each one has VAT @ 20% on it. The RNIB hae been banging on about getting this removed and the EU were looking at getting all member states to slash their vat rates on audio books, but as far as I am aware, its still at 20%

                These days we use Audible, who are owned by Amazon and he downloads them from there. They are cheaper than having to buy them in CD format, but still more expensive than their paperback version.
                Rule Number 1 - Assuming that you have a valid contract in place always try to get your poo onto your timesheet, provided that the timesheet is valid for your current contract and covers the period of time that you are billing for.

                I preferred version 1!

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by BoredBloke View Post
                  They are cheaper than having to buy them in CD format, but still more expensive than their paperback version.
                  That's shocking
                  In Scooter we trust

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by The Spartan View Post
                    That's shocking
                    Not if you use a little common sense.
                    Originally posted by MaryPoppins
                    I'd still not breastfeed a nazi
                    Originally posted by vetran
                    Urine is quite nourishing

                    Comment

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