The First Vice-President and Minister of Economic Affairs, Nadia Calviño, has announced that the Government will extend the VAT reduction applied to basic foodstuffs, as approved by the Council of Ministers meeting on Tuesday

The First Vice-President and Minister of Economic Affairs, Nadia Calviño, has announced that the Government, at this Tuesday’s meeting of the Council of Ministers, will extend the anti-crisis decree, which will maintain the VAT rebate on basic foodstuffs and aid for public transport.

Calviño stated this in an interview on RNE in which she declared that both the VAT reduction on basic foodstuffs and the support for public transport are two measures that the Government is going to maintain as food prices “remain above what is reasonable”.

alimentos sin iva 2023

In this sense, the elimination of VAT on staple foods – such as bread, bread flour, milk, cheese, eggs, fruit, vegetables, pulses, potatoes, cereals – and the reduction from 10 to 5% for oils and pasta will be maintained.

Public transport subsidies will be maintained

As planned, Renfe commuter, ‘rodalies’ and medium distance travel cards will continue to be free of charge, as will the 30% discount on urban and interurban public transport for regional and municipal governments that complement it up to 50%.

As for its procedure, after the royal decree law is approved by the Council of Ministers, it will have to be validated by the Permanent Deputation of Congress, although the Cortes are dissolved due to the early elections.

Calviño also pointed out that the aid measures will be increasingly “surgical”, which is why, she said, general fuel subsidies were eliminated at the end of 2022.

Furthermore, the vice-president has ruled out extending the VAT reduction to meat and fish; she considers that it is “convenient” to continue with the current measures, to which it should be added that “one of the prices that has fallen has been that of fish”.