Publishers' Union warns that VAT increase will drastically reduce reading in Romania

The Publishers' Union of Romania (UER) harshly criticizes the Executive's intention to increase the VAT rate applied to books, including school textbooks, in a context in which the reading level is already alarmingly low. Romanians are reading less and less, and a fiscal decision by the Government risks burying what is left of the book market, claims the UER. According to the publishers, 95% of Romanian citizens over the age of 18 do not purchase a single book in a year, according to Eurostat data. At the same time, Romania is facing one of the highest rates of functional illiteracy in the European Union - a problem consistently highlighted by the international PISA tests.

• One more tax, one less book

Publishers warn that a VAT increase would not bring relevant budgetary benefits, but would increase the selling price of books and textbooks, dramatically reducing the population's access to reading. "If until now little has been read in Romania, with the increase in the price of books, even less will be read - to the point of not reading at all," warn the representatives of the EBU. In their opinion, the solution is not to increase VAT, but to completely eliminate this tax for books, textbooks and cultural or scientific publications. This should be part of a coherent package of public policies aimed at stimulating reading, an area almost completely ignored in recent decades.

• What do the publishers propose?

The Romanian Publishers' Union formulates three essential directions for stimulating book consumption and supporting education through reading: 1. Updating the book collection in libraries. Public and school libraries in Romania have, in many cases, outdated, damaged and outdated collections. Although the Library Law (2002) provides for the annual renewal of the book collection, this is systematically ignored. Over 8,300 public libraries have been closed since 1990, the UEB points out; 2. Vouchers for book purchases. In order to encourage reading among students, publishers are calling for the actual implementation of the programs already provided for in the Pre-university Education Law - "A Book for Everyone” and "Cultural Vouchers for Students” - and the resumption of the 100 euro/year program for teachers, intended for the purchase of educational books; 3. Subsidizing shipping for online orders. The disappearance of physical bookstores in hundreds of localities is turning online orders into the only source of access to books. The UEB proposes subsidizing shipping, so that the total price does not become prohibitive, especially in rural areas.

• Romania - reading laggard in the EU

Compared to other European Union states with similar populations or GDPs, Romania has one of the smallest book markets. The lack of reading profoundly influences the level of education, social cohesion and even resistance to disinformation. In the absence of coherent policies, publishers draw attention to the fact that society risks slipping into an unprecedented cultural crisis. "An educated citizen presupposes free access to cultural and educational resources. If we put an additional barrier, that barrier will become a de facto ban,” concludes the EBU. Reading should not be treated as a fiscal luxury. In a society already marked by functional illiteracy and educational gaps, access to books is not a fad, but a fundamental need.