Source: CNA
Cyprus maintains a very low VAT rate and lower consumption taxes on fuel compared to Germany and other EU countries, Minister of Finance Constantinos Petrides notes in a written statement.
In his statement, issued Monday, the Minister gives clarifications regarding the letter of the German Minister of Finance to EU Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni for the non-imposition of VAT on the new German levy that will be imposed on natural gas for all consumers, as well as regarding statements by Cypriot politicians, including the President of the Parliamentary Committee on Finance and Budget.
"...we have proved that our policies during this difficult time are focused on the support of society with priority given to the vulnerable citizens..." -Petrides
The Minister points out that the request of the German government is not related to the Cypriot opposition's proposals to not impose a VAT on consumption tax or on the fuel adjustment clause on the Electricity Authority Cyprus' tariffs, adding that on the contrary, the German government imposes VAT on consumption tax and on the final price of electricity consumption in accordance with EU legislation.
Noting that the government of Cyprus has not imposed additional levies or other taxation on consumers, he stresses that the government has taken a number of measures to secure the disposable income of households in view of the increased energy prices, by reducing VAT from 19% to 9% for all households and from 19% to 5% for vulnerable households.
Petrides recalls that Cyprus maintains a very low VAT rate and lower consumption taxes on fuel compared to Germany and other EU countries, while unlike other European countries the government does not intend to impose additional taxes or levies on consumers.
"On the contrary, we have proved that our policies during this difficult time are focused on the support of society with priority given to the vulnerable citizens, with a relative budgetary cost of more than 350 million euro until now", the Minister says.
