Energy poverty and taxes on electricity
| 29 February 2016 |
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| Question for written answer to the Commission Rule 130 Notis Marias (ECR) |
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A recent survey by the European Parliament on energy poverty estimates the percentage of energy poverty in Greece to be 36% despite the social price policy for electricity. Ten thousand households are at of risk going without electricity or are already there.
68% of the respondents in Greece to a survey by the Commission answered that they are facing partial or total difficulty in paying their electricity bills.
Greek citizens are unable to pay their electricity bills mainly because of the extortionate taxes. In particular, municipal fees, municipal taxes, real estate tax, excise duty and the 5‰ special levy are collected through electricity bills in breach of EC law, while the VAT rate on electricity is 13%. Those taxes are totally unrelated to electricity production, transmission and distribution.
Could the Commission please state:
| 1. | What stance will it adopt as a member of the troika should the Greek Government decide, in accordance with Article 102 of Directive 2006/112/EC, to take steps towards reducing the VAT rate on electricity from 13% to 5%, as is the case in other EU Member States? |
| 2. | Does it propose to recommend that electricity bills should not include taxes to third parties, in order to relieve the most vulnerable households and fight energy poverty? |
Source: European Parliament
| Answer given by Mr Moscovici on behalf of the Commission | |
| Both taxes to third parties and VAT rates remain the responsibility of the EU Member States. In the case of Greece, these issues are closely related to the policy commitments that the Greek Government has undertaken in August 2015 with a view to receive financial assistance by the European Stability Mechanism (ESM). In the memorandum of understanding (MoU) there is a commitment by the authorities to streamline the VAT system and to review energy taxation. These are expected to reduce current distortions and promote energy efficiency and a shift towards less polluting energy sources. It is expected that in this effort measures are taken to mitigate any impact on the most vulnerable groups. The Commission will closely monitor the implementation of these commitments. |
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