Frankfurt Group show VAT greatest obstacle to electronic informati=

["Rollo Turner" <rollo.turner@dsl.pipex.com>]

on in Europe
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Members of Lib Licence may be interested in some recent research
carried out by the Frankfurt Group on the impact of VAT in the
switch to electronic resources in European Universities.

______________________________________

Frankfurt Group Study Shows:
VAT is the greatest obstacle to electronic information in Europe

Within the European Union, regarding taxation, printed and
electronic versions of publications are treated differently.
Whereas printed publications throughout the EU are subject to a
reduced rate of VAT, electronic publications in most countries
are charged with the highest rate.

VAT represents a barrier for the switch to electronic
publications. "The higher costs for electronic publications
influence the libraries' decisions when purchasing resources,"
commented Hans Geleijnse, Chairman of the Frankfurt Group. "The
study shows that VAT inhibits the switch to electronic
publications in the majority of European libraries in non-VAT
exempt countries. This is contrary to the stated aims of the
European Commission and most national governments."

VAT harms European competitiveness

"The differences in national legislations not only affect the
provision of knowledge within the EU," stated Michael Mabe,
Secretary of the Frankfurt Group. "It also affects the
development of science in the EU compared to countries without
VAT charges on electronic publications such as the USA, where a
zero rate favours the purchase of electronic resources, and thus
may lead to competitive advantages for US research and
education."

The Frankfurt Group report "Survey on the impact of VAT on
libraries and the scientific publication markets" was carried out
by Soziologisches Forschungs-institut G=F6ttingen (SOFI). The
report is available on the Frankfurt Group Website
<www.sub.uni-goettingen.de/frankfurtgroup/vat/EndberichtVAT210906.pdf>

The Frankfurt Group considers VAT issues as a key problem in the
current development of the framework of scientific publications
and the economic development in the EU. The consequences of the
current VAT legislation on electronic publications in the EU give
reason to urgent need of action.

The Frankfurt Group is a Consensus Forum for Academic and
Research Information, whose members represent authors,
publishers, rights organizations, libraries, research centres,
subscription agents and intermediaries. For more information, see
the Frankfurt Group's website
<www.sub.uni-goettingen.de/frankfurtgroup> or contact:


Chairman of the Frankfurt Group
Hans Geleijnse
Vice-President of LIBER
Director of Library and IT Services
Tilburg University
Warandelaan 2
NL =96 5000 LE Tilburg
The Netherlands
Phone +31 13 466 2146
E-mail: Hans.Geleijnse@uvt.nl

Secretary of the Frankfurt Group
Michael A. Mabe
CEO, International STM Association
2nd Floor, Prama House
268 Banbury Road
OXFORD OX2 7MT
UK
Phone: +44 7717 343083
E-mail: mabe@stm-assoc.org

Sent by:

Rollo Turner
Secretary General
Association of Subscription Agents and Intermediaries
+44 (0)1494 534778
www.subscription-agents.org
rollo.turner@dsl.pipex.com
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