No reduced value-added tax rate for digital pop events

The Junior Finance Minister has answered questions submitted in the Lower House of the Dutch Parliament concerning the levying of value-added tax on digital pop events. These are liable for the higher 21 percent value-added tax rate even though the actual tickets for such events come under the reduced 9 percent rate.

Electronic services are excluded from application of the reduced value-added tax rate with the sole exception of electronic publications, as a category which since January 2020 has come under the reduced rather than the higher value-added tax rate. EU regulations do not permit the classification of on-line events of a cultural nature as being eligible for the reduced rate. According to the Junior Finance Minister, surveys have confirmed the reduction as such of the value-added tax rate or the introduction of a reduced rate as the wrong tool for controlling expenditure. This, he explained, is where the subsidy system comes in, to help shore up the cultural sector.

Dutch version: Geen verlaagd btw-tarief voor digitale popevenementen