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Coal-fired power plant in Ladowitz, Czech Republic
Photo: David W Cerny / REUTERS
Due to the sharp rise in energy prices, the Czech government has decided to ease the burden on citizens.
The Prague Ministry of Finance announced that sales tax on electricity and gas should not be levied in November and December.
You are reacting to a "very unusual situation," said the minister responsible, Alena Schillerova.
For the discharge, Schillerova still has to obtain the approval of the EU Commission.
The revenue losses for the tax authorities are estimated at around 78.5 million euros per month.
The government under the populist Prime Minister Andrej Babis also wants to introduce an amendment to the law that would permanently exempt electricity and gas supplies from sales tax from next year.
In the parliamentary elections in early October, the liberal-conservative opposition won a clear majority in the Czech Chamber of Deputies.
Your top representative Petr Fiala spoke out against tax cuts for energy and instead in favor of targeted subsidies for low-income households.
The new House of Representatives will not meet for the first time until November 8th.
Many EU countries are suffering from the rapid rise in electricity, gas, oil and coal prices. The first governments have already taken action against it. For example, France wants to pay poor households 100 euros. Italy wants to invest three billion euros to relieve citizens of their electricity and gas bills through tax cuts. Spain is also planning tax breaks. Great Britain wants to support energy suppliers with loans.
EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson recently came up with a so-called toolbox, with measures that EU countries can apply without violating European competition rules.
Among other things, the Commission proposes direct payments, tax breaks and subsidies for small businesses.
But it is also considering medium-term reforms to make the European energy market more robust in the long term.
Critics say that the toolbox is primarily a symbolic politics that is intended to symbolize the ability to act.
In fact, the EU Commission has mainly summarized measures in its toolbox that have long been decided at national level.
ssu / dpa