The Czech government appears to be poised to win approval for its plan to complete the long-awaited return of property to the Catholic church, however its ability to push through higher VAT charges is now in doubt. The opposition is staunchly against the return of property to the church, primarily on the grounds that it would break the taboo of returning property confiscated by the state before 1948, the year the Communist party assumed party in Czechoslovakia.
It’s been estimated that the state pays out CZK 1.4bn in management costs of the property, but takes in CZK 3bn annually. The Czech constitutional court has deemed it unconstitutional that the church’s property continues to be held by the state. With 103 votes now reportedly in favor of the restitution, this initiative may at last take place. However, prime minister’s Petr Necas’s attempts to raise the basic VAT rate from 15 to 21 percent does not yet appear to have been successful.
