Given that Economy Minister Tomislav Ćorić has been announcing for more than three months that the government’s measures aimed at alleviating the impact of rising energy prices on consumers will include a reduction of the VAT rate and that it will not stay at 25%, HERA has made three calculations of the price increase for households.
Under those calculations, if the VAT rate is reduced to 13%, the price of gas will go up by 60%; if VAT is reduced to 5%, it will go up by 49%, and if VAT is completely abolished, the increase in gas prices will be 42%.
The producer price of gas at present is 87 euros per megawatt-hour, and it will stay so until 28 February. As of 1 April, the cost of gas procurement should go up by 143% and increase from the current 16.96 euros per megawatt-hour to 41.14 euros.
In line with these reports, HERA has calculated how much the price of gas would increase across the country, from distributor to distributor, since prices for end-users are different and depend on distributors and the number of their trade margins.
Based on HERA’s data, Jutarnji List has calculated the price increase for an average family which uses gas for heating and cooking and spends an average of 15,000 kWh annually. The calculation was done for 15 cities.
The average family in Croatia now pays HRK 4,950 for gas annually, and as of 1 April, that cost would amount to HRK 7,950 if VAT is reduced to 13%. If VAT is abolished, the cost would amount to HRK 6,950 annually. This is the average increase at the national level.
The analysis shows that currently, the average family pays the most for gas in Rijeka (HRK 6,150), and in Split, Šibenik, and Zadar (HRK 6,000).
After 1 April, depending on whether VAT is reduced to 0% or 13%, the price of gas would go up the most in Slavonski Brod (69 or 52%), Koprivnica and Kutina (67 or 50%), Bjelovar (65 or 48%) and Samobor (64 or 42%). In Zagreb, the price of gas would go up by 59 or 38%. This increase was calculated solely on the basis of the government’s announcement of a VAT reduction. In addition to that measure, Minister Ćorić has announced some other measures for vulnerable groups of citizens, says Jutarnji List.
(€1 = HRK 7.52)
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