Spain Halts Tax on Medical Supplies, Cuts Rate on E-Books

Spain will temporarily stop collecting value-added tax on certain types of medical equipment to speed up supplies for the fight against coronavirus.

Under a decree the government announced Wednesday, hospitals, clinics, and “private entities of a social nature” won’t need to pay VAT on more than 40 categories of equipment—including respirators, oxygen, monitoring devices, and surgical masks—for purchases made through July 31.

• The new rules apply to both imported supplies and purchases made within the European community.
• The decree also lowered the VAT rate for digital books, newspapers, and magazines to 4%, from 21%, to facilitate access to reading materials while most businesses remain closed as part of a nationwide lockdown.
• “The confinement has increased the demand for cultural products and information from citizens,” according to the decree. The 4% rate eliminates a discrepancy between the tax rates for physical and electronic materials, the government said.

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