On the reduction of VAT on electricity from 19% to 9%

 

Statement by AKEL Political Bureau member, Haris Polycarpou

19 November 2021, AKEL C.C. Press Office, Nicosia

We welcome the change in the position of the Anastasiades-DISY government which, due to the pressure exerted by AKEL and the other opposition parties, has adopted the essence of the proposal of the draft bill we proposed to reduce VAT on electricity from 19% to 9%.

At the same time, we urge the government to give an answer as to how the proposal that has been submitted before Parliament clashes with the possibility of setting a specific timeframe for the implementation of the measure, as well as its insistence on excluding businesses from the scope of the proposal, given that their inclusion will not have a substantial fiscal cost.

At the same time, we reiterate the need for the measures to support the economy and working people to be extended to other sectors such as fuel and essentials goods, and the need to restore the purchasing power of working people’s wages by fully restoring the Automatic Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA) in the public and private sectors.