Publishers call for lower taxes on textbooks

By , September 26, 2023

Investors in the publishing industry are pleading with the State to remove or decrease the tax charged on books.

 Under the umbrella of Kenya Publishers Association, they are also challenging government agencies charged with the responsibility of protecting intellectual property to implement their mandate.  The publishers argue that due to the drastic increase in the cost of living countrywide, most parents and guardians have prioritized food, rent and medicine over literature.

Through its chair, Kiarie Kamau, the publishers noted that this had resulted in a slow level of investment in the industry.

 “VAT on book, at 16%, this tax only serves to make books more expensive, hence unaffordable to the common mwananchi.  We therefore call upon the government to scrap VAT on books, as a way of making knowledge affordable to all, hence lifelong learning, and grow the knowledge economy,” he said.

 “Even though publishers are benefiting from the government textbook tenders, sales of general reading materials through bookshops have diminished. A quick check on the material indicates that Kenyans are prioritizing food, hence other items such as books are put in the backburner”.

He claimed that as a result of piracy the industry was losing more than Sh300 million annually, with the authors the most affected lot.

 “Authors lose because they miss big time on royalties. This has demoralized most of them, especially the upcoming ones who happen to depend purely on writing”, said Kamau.

 He called on the, Anti Counterfeit Authority and Kenya Copyright Board to up their games in order to limit cases of piracy which he claimed were almost becoming a norm He was speaking during a press briefing on the upcoming 24th edition of Nairobi International Book Fair set for September 27 to October 1 at Sarit Centre in Nairobi.  A total of 120 exhibitors from across the global including, China, Iran, India, Abu Dhabi and Tanzania are expected to participate. A delegation from African Publishers Network will attend the week-long event.

The publishers note that due to the 2018 change of government policy to centralise procurement of textbooks, they have received huge textbook tenders resulting in printing millions on copies that have been distributed countrywide.

“To-date, learners from grades one to seven do have all relevant textbooks to the ratio of 1-1. The same applies to those in public secondary schools,” notes Mary Maina, head of Morgan Publishers.

James Odhiambo, the CEO of the association said that books will be published at half the price.

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