Rush to petition to reverse far-right readers' hatred – Job

A protest petition against the proposed increase in VAT on books has already been signed 100,000 times three days later. The petition has been posted on the Boeketitie.nl website since Wednesday and can still be signed.

Various parties in the literary sector, including the Dutch Book Propaganda Collective (CPNB), the General Publishers' Group (GAU), and the Royal Booksellers' Union (KBb), organized the campaign. The initiators are calling for stopping the increase in value-added tax on books. The rate currently stands at 9%, but the proposed new government plans to impose a 21% value-added tax on books from now on.

“Signatures for the book's petition are pouring in, which is fantastic and represents tremendous support,” CPNB Director Evelyn Eindekerk told ANP. “But the question is whether it's enough. That's why we keep going!” The initiators want to present the petition to members of parliament with the famous children's books on Wednesday, June 12, in The Hague.

The petition was signed by famous writers such as Helen van Rooyen, Adriaan van Dis, Saskia Noort, Klone, Rutger Fink and Susan Smit.