book. The luxury of reading 
Perhaps you've heard that access to reading in our country is scarce. Why? Because books are expensive!
In our country there have always been great talents in literature, as Neruda, Mistral, Bolaños, Huidobro, Parra, Rokha, Lihn among others. Unfortunately nobody is prophet in his own land and many have emigrated to the ground to come up with their jobs and achieve recognition.
where you read it out to our writers. In Chile there are very few who can buy books and be able to contribute to the creation of national ownership.
"The reason relates to the cultural industry, specifically books, it is often inaccessible to ordinary citizens. The price of any book in the libraries of our Chile borders between 5 and 20 thousand dollars. "
Which is why people who do not have a high income, if you want access to a book, go to resort to piracy because they are much lower prices, or to neighboring countries such as Argentina where the tax is 0% book, so they are much cheaper.
Some surveys conducted by the INE (National Statistics Institute ) indicate that the percentages of reading in the Chilean has dropped considerably since the 70s to date.
"Chileans are lousy readers, because they are taught at school that literature is a solemn activity of a select few. Terrible. Nothing in the current successful model aims to assess reading, does not provide a social capital than before if gave "argues Henry Winter, poet and director of the independent publishing Temple.
Since the advent of the dictatorship, Chile was no longer one of the most readers in Latin America. This is a graphic UNESCO study in 2000, which states that between 50 and 57% of the National pobalción between 15 and 65, can not understand what he reads.
The tax book in Chile is 19%, the highest on the continent and one of the highest worldwide.
In countries such as Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Argentina, Peru, Mexico and Paraguay the tax is 0%. In Europe, countries such as Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Portugal, Sweden, England, the tax does not exceed 8%.
"It is unfair, the consumption of books in our country usually associated with a luxury, increasing cultural and educational gaps of various socioeconomic sectors of society. "
The little reading, and the high tax is an important factor, but not the only one. Well i must also bear in mind the limited cultural policies building on reading, and the little attention given it to proposals to lower the tax on an estimated between 4 and 7%.
Since Pinochet imposed this ridiculous tax, was mandated to discourage the reading to end the troubling scenario that is Chile today.
Proposals parliamentary reading promotion have been pure speculation.
An interesting and important the work done by so-called popular printers, which print books, magazines, etc. a real price, not market, which becomes an opportunity for many freelance writers who see the system is eating their own creations.
"The independent publishers are called to be the alternative and in this case those who opt for the profit should go for the win that gives the volume for reading and massively reduced costs and low prices without stop winning. Customers do not pursue profit, took on his shoulders the mission to highlight and project authors and their works, assuming it means the cost. Anyway, the girls publishers we should strengthen ties and build a broad front for added strength and, above all, greater visibility, "says Alvaro Rico, author and editorial director of the popular Arttegrama of the population's League.
reading market is a bad business for both publishers and the community, which sees culture disappears within a folly to keep the books as a product of elite.
A community without culture is a community dominated ...
Writings on the article "Tax Knowledge" by Julio Sánchez for newspaper The Citizen No. 64. (Pp. 28)
Suplementerxs
Press Association of Independent Valparaiso
