Glasses and contact lenses go up in price due to IVA bracket change ordered by EU
Saturday, January 11, 2014 @ 7:35 PM
CONTACT lenses and spectacles will be more expensive this year thanks to an EU-based order to streamline IVA (VAT) paid.
Eyeware is now considered to be a healthcare product and as such, should attract top-rate IVA, according to an EU ruling last year which has just come into force.
This means the value-added tax on glasses and contact lenses will now be 21 per cent, not 10 per cent.
The move has caused widespread fury among residents in Spain, since an estimated half of everyone living in the country has to wear glasses or contact lenses, whether purely for reading or computer work, or all the time.
And the essential nature of these means even further hardship is guaranteed for many families who are already struggling to make ends meet.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com