asked the Minister for Finance if he will give details of tax exemptions for newspapers in the member countries of OECD.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Newspaper Tax Exemptions.
15.
It is not possible to give detailed information about tax on newspapers in all the OECD countries, but the position in the European countries for which information is available is that newspapers are exempt from sales taxes in Denmark, France, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom; and they are liable to sales taxes in Austria, Belgium, Finland, Germany, Greece, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Portugal.
16.
asked the Minister for Finance whether, with the introduction of value added tax, he will arrange for complete or partial exemption of newspapers from this tax, in accordance with the practice of countries such as France and Luxembourg.
While newspapers are exempt from value added tax in France they are liable in other EEC countries such as Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands which have value added tax systems. My intention is that the change-over to the value added tax system in this country will be basically a change in the method of collecting the existing turnover and wholesale taxes. I am, however, giving further consideration to the position of newspapers under the proposed value added tax.
May I thank the Minister for that and hope it turns out to be favourable consideration?