Vouchers for students and a tax break for sellers of physical books were among recommendations a lawmaker suggested yesterday to sustain the publishing industry and to encourage reading.
The Ministry of Culture should follow Japan’s example by setting up a taskforce to rejuvenate the publishing industry, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) told a media briefing at the legislature in Taipei.
“Reading is indicative of a nation’s knowledge, but lawmakers seem to have no love of reading, nor for buying books,” Chiu said.
Photo: CNA
“No wonder some of them have low standards, and behave in foolish and ridiculous ways,” he added.
The ministry’s Cultural Coin program in January was a great success, he said.
The program provided Taiwanese aged 16 to 22 NT$1,200 (US$37.66) in vouchers for arts-related activities, including cultural performances, Taiwanese-made movies, crafts and books, and museum visits.
“The government should capitalize on the program’s success,” he said.
“Vouchers worth NT$500 for books should be provided to students at all levels of school, which would cost about NT$890 million per year,” he said, adding that the expense would be worthwhile, as it would cultivate a love of reading from childhood.
The ministry and lawmakers should work together on a draft amendment to end business taxes on physical books, which would help to reduce the financial burden on the publishing industry, Chiu said.
Publishers’ Association data showed that more than 40 percent of its member companies are expecting a decline in revenue this year, Chiu said, adding that a government survey last year showed that household saving was at the second-highest level in the nation’s history.
“However, Taiwanese are quite conservative when it comes to spending on arts and culture-related activities,” he said, citing government statistics that the average household’s spending on books, newspapers, magazines, and stationery peaked at NT$4,658 in 2015, but, fell to NT$3,403 last year, down 26.9 percent over the period.
“Our industry is facing a downturn, while wages are rising,” Association chairman Wu Cheng-hong (吳政鴻) said. “We are also facing rising costs for paper and printing, along with higher copyright rates.”
“So we are asking the government for assistance to alleviate the high costs we are saddled with,” Wu said. “It should lower the tax rate for publishing and printing firms.”
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