Brussels, 12/02/2014 (Agence Europe) - At a conference held at the European Parliament on 11 February, the European Coalitions for Cultural Diversity called for fair and effective cultural taxation in the digital era. The current system penalises assets distributed or sold digitally, which is why these should benefit from lower taxes, like other cultural assets do, they argue. The European Coalitions support the European states which have opted for identical VAT levels on physical books on digital books, on the grounds of technological neutrality. They also speak out against the tax optimisation currently enjoyed by large multinationals on the internet, like Google. By taking advantage of loopholes in the rules, these manage to evade the mechanisms for support for creation, they lament. In late 2013, this situation led the Commission to set up an expert group on taxation for the digital economy, the initial conclusions of which are expected for summer 2014. (IL/transl.fl)