General Secretary of AKEL: the decisions taken by the Parliament on AKEL’s initiative to reduce taxes on electricity and fuel must be adopted
The government should return to the economy and society the increased revenues due to the price hikes
AKEL delegation visits industrial zone and Laiko Group
16 September 2022, AKEL C.C. Press Office, Nicosia
The government must return the increased tax revenues it has collected from the ongoing price hikes back to society and the economy. The General Secretary of AKEL Stefanos Stefanou issued this appeal during his visit to the Industrial Zone of Dali Municipality and the Laiko Group, where he listened to problems businesses and workers face due to the price hikes.
More specifically, the General Secretary of AKEL once again called on the government to abandon its passive stance and adopt the decisions approved by the big majority of Parliament for the reduction of taxes on electricity and fuel in order to help working people, businesses, society and the economy in general to confront the high cost of price hikes.
Stefanos Stefanou for the umpteenth time recalled that the state has the possibility to help, given that the government, in the first seven months of 2022, due to the price hikes, has collected 850 million euros from taxes. At the same time, the government itself has revised its forecasts for increased revenues to more than 1 billion euros by the end of the year. “The government by the end of the year should return this money back to the economy and society. It should start by withdrawing the referrals it has made to the Supreme Court and adopt the decisions approved by Parliament on AKEL’s initiative, the General Secretary of AKEL warned.
Stefanos Stefanou remanded that the price hikes did not come out of nowhere. “What we need is specific measures to be taken so that to the extent possible we can confront them. Measures and decisions have been taken by Parliament on the initiative of AKEL. Unfortunately, the government has not accepted them at the same time as Europe is taking decisions in the direction of reducing energy costs and providing support to households and businesses, he stressed.
