Czech government is ready to abolish VAT on energy due to higher prices

According to Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (YES), the government is ready to temporarily abolish value added tax (VAT) on energy in order to prevent the impact of rising electricity prices on households. Babiš said this in a debate of the eight most serious candidates for the future Prime Minister, which was broadcast by Czech Television.

"We are ready to reduce VAT on energy to zero," Babiš said. According to him, this could also be enforced by his current cabinet, which will probably rule in resignation after the parliamentary elections. Jan Hamáček, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the CSSD, also promised to reduce the current 21% VAT rate on energy.

Energy prices for Czech households will rise in the coming months not only for electricity and gas, but also for coal, for example. For electricity and gas, analysts expect prices for unfixed products to rise by as much as 20 percent in the autumn due to high wholesale prices, which may mean that people will pay up to thousands of crowns.

Source: CTK