Minister announces temporary tax relief

She told the public broadcaster LRT Tuesday that the tax relief is temporary and is set to expire at the end of the year.

The VAT rate was reduced from 21 percent to 9 percent in the second half of last year in order to help restaurants and cafes survive the coronaviruses-related restrictions.

Ministers are looking into whether or not to keep the reduced VAT rate for accommodation services. The finance minister said it is due to expire at the end of the year and has been in place for the past seven years.

In her words, tax deferrals for businesses facing particularly high electricity and heating bills are now being discussed.

We are calculating how much money the measure would cost for the businesses most affected by the energy crisis, i.e. The finance minister told LRT that businesses with 10 percent of their total costs are likely to be offered a tax deferral measure.

According to Creditinfo, the bankruptcies of catering companies accounted for around 14 percent of all bankruptcies in September. According to LRT, many restaurants are closing either for the winter or permanently due to the extremely high energy prices.