“Books are not merely consumer goods; they carry cultural, educational and democratic value that markets do not fully price,” reads a policy brief from the Australian Booksellers Association. “When structural pressures and loss-leader pricing displace specialist bookshops, the infrastructure that supports Australian literary culture is eroded.”

By Andrew Richard Albanese, Editor-in-Chief

Citing the social and cultural benefits of bookstores—and their increasingly challenging economics—the Australian Booksellers Association has released a detailed plan to provide bookstore owners with key tax offsets.

Submitted in response to the Australian government’s initiative—A New National Cultural Policy (2026), a call for ideas to help “shape the future” of the country’s creative and cultural sector—the proposed Bookshop Vitality Tax Offsets, would offer tax breaks to roughly 300 of the country’s 600 bookstore, in recognition of the important role booksellers play.

“Bookshops generate educational, cultural and community benefits that extend beyond sales revenue earned from books sold, yet these wider cultural benefits are not sufficiently reflected in market outcomes, resulting in fewer bookshops than is culturally optimal,” reads a recently released policy proposal. “In the past year alone, at least 13 independent bookshops have closed in Australia. Without intervention, continued attrition of bookshops will damage not just the retail sector but the broader ecosystem of Australian publishing, authorship and reading culture.”

According to the Australian Booksellers Association’s policy brief, the program looks to “sustain and strengthen Australia’s network of independent and community-serving bookshops” by supporting investment in “skilled employment, physical premises, technology and Australian-authored books.”

Under the proposal, eligible bookshops would have to be at least 75% Australian owned, with one or more “bricks-and-mortar retail premises” in Australia, and open to the public for a minimum 24 months. In addition, the store must derive at least 70% of its turnover from books and conduct at least eight events per year (such as author talks, book clubs, school, or community literary events). The proposal also suggests two “tiers” for the program, including “refundable offsets on eligible expenditure for bookshops” with annual sales below $10 million; and “non-refundable offsets against tax liability (reduces tax payable only)” for bookshops with annual sales between $10-$40 million. Entities with revenues above $40 million would not be eligible.

“This support will help to stabilize bookshop viability while preserving the cultural and economic ecosystem that underpins Australian publishing, authorship and reading,” the policy brief goes on to explain, calling bookstores “the primary point of discovery” for Australian authors, and the “physical anchor” of local culture. However, the brief continues, costs—including rent, employee wages, and other operational expenses, are “rising rapidly” relative to already thin margins, and bookstores face “structural competition from global giants and discount department stores that neither value nor are constrained by providing cultural infrastructure and public good.”

The brief also lays out five reasons why the proposed tax policy merits support and would benefit Australians.

“Books are not merely consumer goods; they carry cultural, educational and democratic value that markets do not fully price,” the brief states. “When structural pressures and loss-leader pricing displace specialist bookshops, the infrastructure that supports Australian literary culture is eroded.”

In a statement on her LinkedIn page, Australian Booksellers Association CEO Susannah Bowen reiterated the value Australia’s bookstores provide. “Booksellers are working incredibly hard just to keep their doors open. If we want Australian stories, local communities and a vibrant publishing ecosystem to thrive, we need to recognize bookshops for what they are: an essential part of Australia’s cultural infrastructure—and support them accordingly.”