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local elites who represent such a strong local identity, andwho are strong readers also tend to be among the first toembrace reading in English, as they are fluent in foreignlanguages, open to other cultures, and travel widely. Slovenia,Sweden, and Denmark are examples of such markets.New paradigms and newchallengesThe conflicts triggered by the global actors are not limitedto culture. In the late autumn of 2012, a new battle receivedpublicity across Europe, and this time it was about moneyand power.Global players versus local taxation“It’s time to boycott Amazon, ethical consumer” was writtenin bold letters on a UK-based website. The activist callfor action, however, is just one element in a broad debateon how Amazon, Google, and the global coffee brewerStarbucks use complexities and differences among Europeancountries and their respective financial regulationsto reduce their spending on local taxes on a grand scale.“We’re not accusing you of being illegal, we’re accusingyou of being immoral,” was the accusation uttered at ahearing of the British Parliament in November 2012, whenit turned out that, for instance, Amazon’s European headoffice, Amazon EU S.a.r.l., based in Luxembourg, had declareda profit of €20 million after revenues of €9.1 billion,while its British arm, Amazon UK Ltd., had paid £1.8 millionin corporate taxes on over £200 million in turnover in 2011.Google had reported £2.5 billion in UK sales in 2011 buttax of just £3.4 million (The Register, 13 November 2012).Reports started to shed light on how Amazon, in “highlycomplex transaction(s),” since 2005 had rearranged theircompany structure in various European markets, notablythrough establishing its headquarters in tax-friendly Luxembourg,giving it a significant competitive advantageover companies that operated mostly out of and in onemarket. (For details, see a Reuters´ Special Report “Amazon’sbillion dollar tax shield”, 6 December 2012, and “Howone word change lets Amazon pays less tax on its UK activities”The Guardian, 4 April 2012).The outrage over Amazon quickly spilled over the Channelto France, where the online retailer on the one hand hadreceived significant financial public support for installinga distribution center in Burgundy and on the other handframed its local operations as those of a mere “service providingsociety”, while transferring and accounting profitsto its holdings in Luxembourg. As a result, not only didindependent booksellers rally against Amazon (LivresHebdo, 3 January 2013), but French financial authoritieslaunched an inquiry (Livres Hebdo, 14 November 2012).During the first half of 2013, the fiscal debate picked upmomentum as well as massively extended its ambitionsand goals, with the French government debating modelsto tax digital global actors better. A report has been commissionedto explore ideas ranging from taxing the collectionof individual consumer data by firms such as Googleto international actions to redefine how transnationalcompanies and their revenues can be localized (“Fiscalitédu numérique: vers une taxation des données”, Les Echos,18 January 2013; “Un rapport envisage une taxe sur lesdonnées personnelles”, Le Monde, 18 January 2013).The localization of ebooks however confronts much moremundane obstacles as well.Oddities of contratictory tax regimesOne such hurdle - and a really tough one to overcome - istax: sales tax in the US and value-added tax (VAT) in Europe.The tax issue has already been raised in many Americanstates with regard to a genuinely American brand: Amazon.com(for a detailed account, see this Wikipedia page).In Europe, VAT is redrawing the map of retail, placing thetiny state of Luxembourg at the center. Luxembourg is theEuropean headquarters for Amazon, Apple, Kobo, andBarnes & Noble. (Of the major European ebook sellers, onlyGoogle is based elsewhere - in Ireland - for historic reasons.)Having already created an attractive business environment,notably with regard to corporate taxes, Luxembourgdecided in late 2011 to unilaterally lower VAT onebooks to 3% (from 15%), which obviously gives it a significantedge over many other European markets, includingthe UK (where VAT on ebooks is 20%). The resulting taxadvantages for transnationals have triggered heated debates,notably in the UK and France in fall 2012.European trade authorities consider ebooks to be softwarethat is licensed to consumers rather than a product thatcan be purchased, like a print book. As a result, preferentialVAT rates for books (0% in the UK, 7% in Germany) do notapply for a title’s digital edition. Despite such views in theEuropean Commission, France and Spain have recentlypassed national laws (or simply tolerate practices) thatconsider ebooks to be books. (See, The Bookseller, 18 December2011).The complexities of localizationThe Global eBook Report 90