EU seeks to end higher levies on ebooks

Brussels: Taxes on ebooks should be cut to align their price with paper books, the European Commission proposed on Thursday as part of a broader review of sales tax`s rules in Europe.

Existing European Union rules allow reduced value added tax (VAT) rates only for printed books but not for ebooks. Several EU states, including Germany, France and Italy, have repeatedly urged to scrap this discrimination.

A Commission document said t would issue a legislative proposal later this year "to ensure that e-publications can benefit from the same reduced rates as physical publications," a Commission document said.

The concession on ebooks is part of a wider plan to give back to EU states some powers to set VAT rates.