Madrid, Dec. 27 (BNA) Spain on Tuesday announced measures worth 10 billion euros ($10.65 billion) to ease inflation pain in the third major package this year, bringing total aid to 45 billion euros since early 2022.
According to Reuters, it quoted Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez as saying that the package includes a one-time bonus of 200 euros for about 4.2 million families with an annual income of up to 27,000 euros and an extension of tax cuts for energy bills in the first half of next year.
The package follows similar announcements in March and June that included direct aid, tax cuts, soft loans and rent controls. The measures, along with a deal negotiated with the European Union to cap gas prices for electricity production, have had some success. Inflation has slowed over the past 12 months to 6.7 percent in November, the lowest rate in the 27-nation European Union bloc.
Slowing inflation has helped the sharp decline in electricity prices, which fell 22.4 percent from a year earlier in November. But food prices continued to affect the wallets of Spaniards, jumping 15 percent during October and November compared to the previous year.
The government said it would cut value-added tax on basic foods such as bread, cheese, milk, fruits, vegetables and grains to 0% from 4%. Sanchez said pasta and cooking oils will be cut in half, to 5 percent. Sanchez also announced a 12-month extension of commuter rail travel subsidies and limits on rent increases. However, the discount on the price of petrol will be stopped for consumers except for the transportation sector.
He said the aid provided so far has helped Spain achieve strong economic growth this year, which was estimated at more than 5 percent, higher than the government’s previous forecast of 4.4 percent.
insignificant