Denmark scraps book tax to fight 'reading crisis'

Accelerating the decline of literacy?

The Danish government has decided to scrap the controversial tax on books established almost 40 years ago, in a bid to reverse the country's reading crisis. The culture and media minister, Annette Vilhelmsen, hopes the move will help tackle the country's literacy problem, with book prices expected to drop by around a third.

Will it work?

The move has been welcomed by authors, who hope it will increase readership, but there are doubts about whether it will be enough to reverse the trend. Experts estimate that Danes spend half the time on books compared to 30 years ago, with only 20% of the population reading literature.

A global trend?

It remains to be seen whether the removal of the book tax will be enough to get Danes reading again. But with similar taxes on books in place in countries like Canada, France, and Ireland, it's an issue that many governments are grappling with. Will Denmark's bold move inspire change elsewhere, or is this a step too far?