Finance Minister Zdravko Maric said on Friday that tax policy would be part of a comprehensive package of measures to cushion the impact of increased energy prices.

“It would be great if the impact of price increases could be alleviated by tax policy alone, but that is not possible. Tax policy will certainly make its contribution,” Maric told the press after a meeting of the Council for the Adoption of Euro as legal tender in Croatia.

He did not specify how much VAT on gas and electricity would be reduced by. He said that the government was considering a set of measures to help households and business because of a certain rise in gas and electricity prices as of 1 April.

As for a possible reduction of excise taxes, Maric said that 70 million kuna (€9.3m) from excise taxes on gas and electricity was paid into the state budget annually, which “gives room for cuts.”