Less than an hour after approving a petrol tax cut on Wednesday, Czech parliament overturned the decision following a sharp objection from Finance Minister Andrej Babiš. The move would have cut petrol and diesel taxes by about CZK 14bn a year starting in 2015, but Babiš (ANO) argued that this would only benefit petrol distribution companies and not the consumer. “The 14 billion … will go to distribution firms,” Babiš was quoted as telling the lower house of parliament. “And if you do not understand that, come for a training session.” The finance minister also pointed out that the cut, an amendment to a bill meant to give a tax break to farmers, would put the country’s petrol tax below the minimum rates required by the EU.
Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka admitted that many deputies from his Social Democratic party had no idea what they were voting on and a new vote has been called for Friday.
“Politically, I see this as an extremely dangerous way to push through the change … Unless it is not a violation of the coalition agreement when some of the coalition’s deputies vote for laws fundamentally influencing budget revenues without consultation with the finance minister,” Pavel Sobisek, the chief economist at UniCredit Bank, told ČTK. “Then it is needed to change the coalition agreement quickly or dissolve the coalition government.”
