Sri Lanka, June 30 -- The National Book Traders Association says that the price of printed books has increased by 20% due to the imposition of Value Added Tax (VAT) and Nation Building Tax (NBT).

Sri Lanka Book Publishers' Association President, Samantha Indeewara, made this statement while speaking at the annual anniversary event of the National Book Traders Association.

"The price of a book has increased by 20%, or about one-fifth. The officials are confusing the issue. Previously, there was a 15% VAT on items like stationery, but there was no VAT on printed books. That's what directly changed from 0% to 18%. Stationery previously had only 3% VAT. They are mixing up these two categories."

He further noted that about a month ago, a le...