A new package of measures to help Croatians to address inflationary pressure is very likely to be prepared, we are working on it, Finance Minister Zdravko Maric said on Thursday after a meeting of coalition partners, however, he stopped short of saying when those measures could enter into force.

The new package of anti-inflationary measures is being discussed in the government and in the coalition, Maric said.

“We will see when it is ready, we are working on it,” he said.

According to Maric, the new package “is very likely given the development of events,” and it will include state aid in the form of guarantees to gas suppliers, primarily the HEP national power supplier, in order to facilitate the provision of gas supplies for the next season.

The priority is to cushion the effects of inflation and ensure energy supplies and food products, said Maric.

Asked whether the price hikes in stores were justified, Maric said that it is difficult to make general assessments because prices are impacted by a series of elements.

Commenting on complaints by the hospitality sector related to the recent “tax massacre,” Maric said that these were regular activities by the Tax Administration that “protects the interest of taxpayers who meet all their tax liabilities in an orderly manner.”

During the pandemic, the state showed solidarity with the services sector, primarily in hospitality and now it “expects the same at least from the other side.”

He said that supervision revealed certain irregularities with a smaller number of hospitality providers. He warned that increased turnover was recorded where supervision was stepped up and significant disproportion was identified with entry (supplies) compared with exit data. As such the Tax Administration can react and that is what it is doing. Maric underscored that this is a regular activity conducted by the Tax Administration.