If you want people to read - don't tax reading

For much of the second half of the last century successive UK governments have been persuaded by the arguments in favour of not taxing reading and these are as clear as ever:

	A well-informed, functional population is a literate one
	A literate population requires the stimulus to read
	This stimulus comes through books, newspapers and magazines
	VAT on publications would force the closure of thousands of newspapers and magazines
	VAT on publications would remove an important stimulus for UK content creators
	While education is the key investment to ensure economic development, literacy is at the core of any educational curriculum

The Government should:

State clearly that it will not tax reading

The Government should not:

Be persuaded that harmonisation of tax at EU level requires a tax on reading in the UK