The Government will extend the VAT reduction on basic foods

The next Council of Ministers, which will be held this Tuesday, will approve the Royal Decree-Law to extend some of the anti-crisis measures that expire on June 30. The First Vice President and Minister of Economic Affairs, Nadia Calviño, announced today that the VAT reduction on basic foods and aid for public transport will be maintained.

In order to alleviate the effects of inflation, the Executive of Pedro Sánchez decided last January to abolish VAT on basic necessities and lower that of oils and pasta from 10% to 5%. In an interview with RNE, Calviño has argued that the measure will be extended because the prices of these products “remain above what is reasonable.”

“We are awaiting the price data for June, which we will not know until the end of the month, and on Thursday we will have the first preview. But we do see that the price of food continues to be high. For this reason, we believe that it is necessary to maintain, but always linked to how prices evolve in the coming months”, he qualified. However, she has added that the anti-crisis measures will be increasingly “surgical”.

The First Vice President of the Government rules out extending the VAT reduction to meat and fish, since “one of the prices that has fallen has been that of fish”. Yes, the tax elimination for bread, bread-making flour, milk, cheese, eggs, fruits, vegetables, legumes, potatoes, cereals will be maintained, and the reduction from 10% to 5% in oils and pasta will continue.

Likewise, the free Renfe commuter, rodalies and medium-distance passes will continue to apply beyond June 30, as well as the financing of 30% of the urban and interurban public transport discount to the regional and municipal governments that complement it. up to 50%.

Inflation continued to moderate last May when the interannual rate stood at 3.2%. Subjacent inflation -which does not include fresh products or energy- also continued to decline, falling five tenths since April, to 6.1%. For its part, food registered an interannual rate of 12%, almost one point less than in the month of April.