The financial strain on Cypriot consumers is gradually becoming unbearable. The Minister of Finance has hinted at measures the government is expected to announce following tomorrow’s Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
The Ministry is considering extending the zero VAT rate on essential goods, as well as the possibility of expanding the list of eligible products.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
Targeted measures for vulnerable groups are also being considered, while the most pressing issue for most households is the reduction of the excise tax on heating oil, the price of which is breaking one record after another.
Targeted and across-the-board measures by member states
European governments are now on high alert, with most proceeding with a mix of measures, extending existing ones and adopting new ones.
“We have now exceeded 100 billion euros in extra costs for our energy this year, without having received a single additional unit of natural gas or oil. 100 billion euros.”
Dan Jørgensen – EU Commissioner for Energy and Housing
In Germany, a 17-cent reduction in taxes on gasoline and diesel was announced, effective October 1.
The fiscal cost is estimated at 2.5 billion euros, with the German Ministry of Finance considering covering it through a tax on energy companies’ windfall profits.
Since March, France, rather than implementing across-the-board tax cuts, has focused on targeted fuel subsidies.
It extended these subsidies through the end of the year. Meanwhile, the French president asked Ursula von der Leyen to consider relaxing European rules.
In Spain, the excise tax on electricity has been reduced from 5.1% to 0.5%.
Meanwhile, yesterday in Italy, a price cap was imposed by companies on gasoline and diesel at gas stations, following a gradual reduction in the overall excise tax on diesel.
Greece is expected to implement a total fuel tax relief of 15–20 cents per liter, while the goal is to also announce, by mid-October, a significant reduction in heating oil prices and a across-the-board increase in the heating allowance.
Other member states have also taken action regarding fuel prices, with some of them focusing on the windfall profits of oil companies and others covering a longer time frame.
Watch the report by Kleio Vourkou:
