EU ministers agree lower sales tax for e-books, digital publications

LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) - European Union finance ministers decided on Tuesday to lower sales taxes on e-books and other digital publications and to align them to reduced levies applied to paper versions of books and magazines.

The agreement was announced by Austrian Finance Minister Hartwig Loeger in a public debate at a meeting of EU ministers in Luxembourg.

It comes after more than two years of talks after a European Commission proposal that is meant to review Value Added Tax (VAT) rules on digital publications.

The deal will allow EU states to apply reduced, or even zero VAT rates to electronic publications.

(Reporting by Francesco Guarascio; editing by Philip Blenkinsop)