Spain has scrapped VAT on staples like bread and milk and is expanding rent and eviction controls to ease the economic crisis caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Rhyme Minister Pedro Sánchez announced the measures on Tuesday in a year-end speech. The government said it will also cut sales tax on cooking oil and pasta from 10 percent to 5 percent. Fish and meat products were exempt from tax reductions.
Sánchez said the three aid packages passed since the war began in February would cost about 45 billion euros, including 10 billion euros for the latest round of measures.
He said the aim was to “protect the middle and working classes in the face of rising living, energy and food costs”.
Although inflation and energy prices have fallen sharply in Spain in recent months, many Spaniards continue to suffer greatly from a crisis that began in 2020 with the Covid-19 pandemic and was exacerbated by the war.
The government will cut the electricity tax from 10 percent to 5 percent for another six months and issue a new €200 check to people earning less than €27,000 a year. He said the check would benefit 4.2 million households.
The government extended the suspension of forced evictions of poor people that had been in place since the Covid-19 pandemic. It says people whose house rents need to be renewed in the next six months can request a six-month extension to their contracts with no change in monthly payments.
The government has also maintained free commuter and short-distance trains for heavy users throughout 2023. It has included medium-distance urban bus services in the package. The tank discounts for truck drivers should also be continued.
The measures will come into force on January 1st.
https://www.independent.ie/business/world/spain-scraps-vat-on-bread-and-milk-in-10bn-cost-of-living-package-42246722.html Spain scraps VAT on bread and milk in €10 billion cost-of-living package
