The government assumes that most of its anti-inflation measures, introduced at the beginning of the year for a period of six months, will be prolonged, Waldemar Buda, the development and technology minister, has said.
Poland’s inflation rate has been climbing rapidly for a few months, reaching 12.3 per cent in April. From February 1, the government cut the VAT tax to zero on basic foodstuffs, natural gas and fertilisers, and reduced VAT on fuels to 8 per cent from 23 per cent, among other measures, which will be in force until July 31.
“I think that today, no one can imagine a situation where the measures such as the lowered prices of fuel or gas will be waived because the inflation situation has not improved, on the contrary, we can see the opposite happening,” Buda told reporters on Wednesday.
According to Buda, the government assumes that most of the anti-inflation measures will be prolonged, but a decision has not yet been made.
“The prime minister will be the leader here and will announce the information,” Buda said, adding that the likely government policy will be to keep most measures in force until inflation begins to cool.
The minister declined to specify a date when the measures will be phased out but quoted economists’ estimates that inflation will peak in the third quarter of 2022 or at the beginning of 2023.