Government considering “war tax” on selected companies

The Czech government is seriously considering the implementation of a “war tax” that would tax certain companies that are currently experiencing exceptional profits not due to improved services, but because of “external events”, Finance Minister Zbyněk Stanjura told TV station CNN Prima News on Wednesday.

He said that said that such a tax would only affect a very narrow group of companies, refusing to be more specific. The finance minister also ruled out taxing specific sectors as a whole, or raising VAT.

The “war tax” proposal has been met with criticism from opposition parties. ANO Vice-Chairman Karel Havlíček called it a purely populist move. Meanwhile, Radim Fiala from the Freedom and Direct Democracy party said that there were other options available than to raise taxes.