• by Ray Schultz , November 27, 2022

Portuguese consumers may get a deduction for what they spend on periodical subscriptions, including digital.

Ministers approved a budget amendment that allows readers to deduct part of their subscriptions to newspapers and magazines when reporting their Value Added Tax payments, the Portugal News reports. 

This is in line with a growing trend.

In September, Ireland announced that newspapers would be zero-rated for VAT in what Newsbrands Ireland, a representative group, called “a good day for journalism.” The change is effective Jan. 1.

Meanwhile, the European Commission is introducing a pan-European model for digital VAT reporting, Bloomberg Tax writes. 

This report continues that reforms are sweeping Europe to make VAT Reporting “more frequent and granular.” 

It is not clear how that will affect publishers. But they could get a boost if consumers do not have to pay VAT—a standard form of sales tax that precludes the personal tax rates seen in the U.S.

In Portugal, “an amount corresponding to the total VAT borne by any member of the household, which appears on invoices relating to the acquisition of subscriptions to periodicals (newspapers and magazines), including digital ones, taxed at the reduced rate of VAT, communicated to the Tax and Customs Authority,” the Portugal Times reports.