“During six months, we will lower the VAT on all staples from 4 to 0 percent,” says Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez at a press conference.
The tax relief is part of a new package of measures – worth 10 billion euros, equivalent to approximately 111 billion kroner – to reduce the Spaniards’ living costs.
The VAT on cooking oil and pasta is reduced from 10 to 5 percent.
Sanchez also presented a one-off payment of 200 euros to low-income families.
The aid package is the sixth in a series aimed at alleviating the “economic and social consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine”. In total, the government has invested 45 billion euros in countering inflation and the rampant food and energy prices.
The measures have had an effect. But while inflation has fallen from 10.8 percent in July to 6.8 in November, food prices have remained at a high level.