MANILA - Books will remain exempt from the value added tax (VAT) under the second package of tax reforms being pushed by the government, an official of the Department of Finance said.

The importation of books will also remain tax exempt as stated under the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act, Finance Undersecretary Karl Kendrick Chua said in a statement.

“First, under the tax code, the exemption of the purchase of books, we did not touch that. If you buy a book from a bookstore, it will still be VAT-exempt,” Chua said.

Chua said the only provision on the book industry under the Tax Reform for Attracting Better and High-quality Opportunities (TRABAHO) Bill, is the repeal of the tax provision under the Book Publishing Industry Development Act.

But he said this does not mean the removal of VAT exemption and duty-free importation of books.

He added that the book publishing industry will likely be included in the government's Strategic Investment Priority Plan, which may give it even more tax incentives.

The TRABAHO Bill aims to reduce corporate income taxes and rationalize fiscal incentives.