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 to keep the reduced VAT rate for accommodation services. The finance minister said that it has been in place for the past seven years and is due to expire at the end of the year.
She said that businesses with particularly high electricity and heating bills are facing a lot of tax deferrals.
We are calculating how much the measure would cost the businesses most affected by the energy crisis, i.e. The finance minister told LRT that businesses that meet this definition are likely to be offered a tax deferral measure, because of the fact that their energy costs account for at least 10 percent of their total costs.
Bankruptcies of catering companies accounted for around 14 percent of all bankruptcies in September, according to Creditinfo. Many restaurants are closing for the winter or permanently because of the extremely high energy prices, according to LRT.