Overview

• Culture Minister Jakob Engel-Schmidt announced the plan, calling the situation a national “reading crisis.”
• The government says the abolition of the 25% tax on books will be written into its upcoming budget draft.
• Officials estimate the change would cost about 330 million Danish kroner per year, roughly €44 million.
• Denmark currently levies a 25% VAT on books, described as the highest rate in Europe.
• The latest OECD PISA results found 24% of Danish 15-year-olds cannot understand simple texts, up four percentage points in a decade, after publishers petitioned in May for better access to printed books.