Lower house overturns Klaus veto to reduce top VAT rate to 19 percent

A bill reducing the top value added tax rate from 22 to 19 percent has been passed by the Chamber of Deputies, overturning a veto by President Vaclav Klaus. All Chamber business had been suspended since Tuesday to allow the foreign minister, Cyril Svoboda, more time to recover after a recent car crash. Mr Svoboda was flown to Prague by helicopter from his hospital in Brno; his vote was crucial because the government has a majority of only one in the 200-seat lower house.

Finance Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said the new VAT rate could take effect as of Friday, when it is published in the Czech Republic's Collection of Laws. Minister Sobotka had been pushing hard to have the change adopted ahead of European Union accession on May 1, saying failure to do so would have harmed Czech trade with other EU states.