Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic announced on Wednesday a package of measures, worth up to 4.8 billion kuna (728 million U.S. dollars), to mitigate the effect of rising energy prices in the country.
The measures will limit the growth of electricity prices to 9.6 percent and gas to a maximum of 20 percent, Plenkovic said.
Moreover, the Value Added Tax (VAT) rate, which bears the brunt of the new measures, will be dropped from the current 25 percent on the supply of gas to 5 percent from April 2022 until April 2023 and after that, the VAT rate will stand permanently at 13 percent, Plenkovic said.
The VAT rate on food will also be lowered from 13 percent to 5 percent.
The measures will also provide vouchers for 64,000 socially vulnerable households and additional subsidies for pensioners, Plenkovic said.
The new measures are expected to be in effect on April 1.
"These measures should significantly ease the growth of gas and electricity prices as well as other necessities. The goal is to preserve jobs and citizens' spending power," Plenkovic noted.
Editor: Kelly
