Tax revenues to allow for more support
Budget revenues are continuing their rising course, creating some hopes for additional support measures by the government over the summer.
Provisional figures on state takings for May point to fresh growth in tax revenues, illustrating that the energy crisis has not yet led households and corporations to leaving their taxes unpaid in order to cover their soaring day-to-day expenses.
Finance Ministry sources say consumption at supermarkets and stores has come to the levels expected, contributing to the significant growth in tax takings even if the volume of fuel sales remained in decline last month. The rebound of the euro against the dollar is expected to ease pressure on fuel rates, though that may prove to be temporary, they note.
Any fiscal space created will be used for a new bunch of measures against price hikes. The scenarios on the table provide for extending the horizontal subsidy on gasoline of 30-50 euros for the third quarter of the year, the extension of the €0.15 per liter subsidy on diesel, which is supposed to expire this month, and the expansion of the transport subsidy, which concerns shipping of passengers and goods to island destinations.
