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Polish gov't backs massive anti-inflation package​

30.11.2021 23:30
Poland's government on Tuesday approved an extensive package of measures to combat rising prices, the state PAP news agency reported.
Audio
Polands Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki (pictured) outlines the governments anti-inflationary measures at a news conference on Tuesday.
Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki (pictured) outlines the government's anti-inflationary measures at a news conference on Tuesday.PAP/Radek Pietruszka

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, who unveiled the package last week, told reporters on Tuesday that the Cabinet had begun to implement the policies, dubbed "the anti-inflationary shield."

He said that some of the measures still needed to be endorsed by parliament, while others would soon be introduced by a governmental decree.   

"The anti-inflationary shield is designed to protect Polish families and Polish household budgets against price increases," Morawiecki added. 

Compared to initial plans, the package has been extended to include a decrease in value-added tax on heating from networks from 23 percent to 8 percent, Morawiecki told the media. 

The programme also comprises temporary reductions in excise tax on fuels and VAT on gas and electricity, as well as a one-time cost-of-living allowance for 7 million poorer households and a freeze on new government jobs, the PAP news agency reported.

The move comes as a flash estimate from the Polish statistics office showed on Tuesday that year-on-year inflation totalled 7.7 percent in November, above analysts' estimates and at a level not seen since 2000, news outlets reported.

(pm/gs)

Source: PAP

Click on the audio player above for a report by Radio Poland's Elżbieta Krajewska.