Denmark is set to eliminate VAT on books — currently at 25%, the highest rate globally — in an effort to encourage more citizens to read.
At 25%, the country’s VAT on books is currently the highest in the world — a policy the government says has contributed to a growing “reading crisis.”
The initiative is expected to cost the Danish state €330 million annually. However, Minister of Culture Jakob Engel-Schmidt warned that if retail prices don’t fall, the measure will be reconsidered, as it would otherwise simply increase publisher profits without benefiting consumers.
A recent study in the United States found that 46% of adults did not read a single book in 2023. Meanwhile, the share of habitual readers — those who read regularly — dropped from 28% in 2003 to just 16% in 2023.
While other Scandinavian countries also have a standard VAT rate of 25%, they already apply reduced rates to books: 14% in Finland, 6% in Sweden, and 0% in Norway.
According to the country’s national statistics agency, 8.3 million books were sold in Denmark in 2023 — both in physical stores and online — in a country with just over 6 million people.
The most popular category was books for very young children, including picture books and activity books. Crime novels, thrillers, and suspense fiction came in second.
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