Babiš to again propose reducing VAT on draught beer to cabinet

Finance Minister Andrej Babiš is planning to submit a plan to reduce value-added tax on draught beer to the coalition for the second time at a meeting on Wednesday. Mr. Babiš wants draught beer to be moved from the 21-percent to the 15-percent VAT band. When he put forward the same proposal in January he said it would help pubs hit by increased costs stemming for an electronic cash-register system connected to a tax authority database. Coalition partners the Social Democrats responded with a proposal to cut VAT on essential foodstuffs. The right-wing opposition said Mr. Babiš’s plan amounted to populism and pre-election campaigning.

Author: Ian Willoughby