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While the rest of community partners and even the ECB accept the record inflation levels since the founding of the euro with which 2022 has started as a kind of biblical curse to which only resignation fits, the Polish government takes action. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has just launched a plan against the lack of control of prices that includes subsidies to households and companies to face the rise in fuel and energy, as well as VAT reductions which, in the case of food, for example, is completely eliminated.
These provisions, which will come into force as of February, will have the consequence that the State collects between 3,500 and 4,000 million euros lessBut according to Morawiecki “it is worth it because it will have a great positive impact on the economy.”
It has specified that the VAT exclusion will also affect fertilizers, until now taxed at 5%, and the entire range of basic foods, but not luxury food products. “Only basic foods will be exempt, others such as shellfish will not”He said during the presentation of his “Anti-Inflation Plan 2.0”, suggesting that most imported food will continue to be subject to Value Added Tax. It also provides the reduction of VAT on gasoline, from the current 23% to 8%, which will translate into a reduction of about 12 cents per liter of fuel at the distribution price. The government has commissioned the Consumer Agency to verify that merchants and manufacturers apply the VAT reductions corresponding to the final prices of products.
Government experts calculate that the cost of energy for private homes will benefit from a reduction of 5% in the case of electricity, but also a fund of about 2,200 million euros is enabled that will be distributed among Polish households with less income, as a subsidy to pay for heating and to offset the price of gas. The Minister of Climate and Environment, Anna Moskwa, estimates that the package of measures will benefit some 7 million families who will save an average of 22 euros per month and that energy subsidies per household can reach 300 euros in some cases. In the case of public buildings, churches or premises of non-profit organizations, the a special reduced rate on your gas bill. Likewise, it is established that the State Strategic Reserves Agency may use the funds of the Public Treasury to acquire and maintain gas reserves and other energy sources of strategic value.
This is the strategy with which Poland responds to the energy crisis caused by the high prices of gas and other fuels, which inflation has shot up to 8.6% in a country still highly dependent on coal and in which a public discourse predominates that blames Russia for what is happening. This inflation rate is the worst in 20 years and is having dramatic consequences in households. Tomas Jelenski, 54, lives with his family near Warsaw and regrets that the pellets he uses for the stove have risen from the 1,200 zlotys he paid last September to 1,738 today (260 and 380 euros respectively). Those who heat their house with gas or have small businesses have it even more difficult, since the bill has gone up between 50% and 60% on average, which leads in many cases to revert to coal as an alternative energy source. “Nobody is going to change their heating to a more modern system now because we don’t have the money for that right now,” complains Jelenski.
Wojciech Jokobik, an expert in the energy sector, points out that “the Polish economy is recovering from the impact of the pandemic, but it lacks the capacity to meet its electricity and natural gas needs and the current high energy prices, which have been six consecutive months on the rise, could reverse the recovery process. “We have diversified sources of gas supply in Poland, but the high prices of CO2 emission allowances have a great impact on energy prices and our aim would be to cut household electricity bills in half, although still We will not succeed with this program, ”explains Aleksnder Brzozka from the Polish Ministry of Climate. “The increase in energy poverty should not be underestimated, because it has a great impact “We did not do enough to keep ourselves energy secure in the good times and now energy prosperity is gone, and I’m not just talking about Poland, but also about the economy. European Union”.
www.abc.es
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism