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The price of an annual electronic road toll vignette will rise from the current 1,500 to 2,300 crowns next year within the austerity measures introduced by the government, Transport Minister Martin Kupka said on Friday. The ministry is planning to introduce a one-day vignette, from March of next year, which will cost 200 crowns. On the other hand, the price of the ten-day vignette will drop by 40 crowns to 270 and the monthly vignette will cost 430 instead of the present 440 crowns. The current prices have been in effect since 2012 but the minister said they would now be reviewed and upped regularly.

Some civil servants may lose their jobs due to the government's proposed two percent cut in public sector funding, Prime Minister Petr Fiala acknowledged in an interview for Czech Television on Thursday evening. However, he argued that it would be up to the individual ministries and state institutions to decide how they were going to save the money. He said the options were not to replace people who go into retirement, agree on slightly lower salaries for all or slash whole departments and relegate their tasks to others. The government wants to save 20 billion crowns in the public sector by cutting back on salaries and operating costs.

The 78th edition of the Prague Spring International Music Festival gets underway at the city’s Municipal House on Friday evening. Traditional curtain-raiser My Country by Bedřich Smetana will be performed by the Orchestra of the Welsh National Opera, conducted by Czech Tomáš Hanus. It will also be relayed to the public on big screens at Prague’s Kampa.

French violist Antoine Tamestit will be the performer in residence this year, making four appearances. The Prague Spring will conclude on June 2.

The Czech government has revealed its plans to reduce the state budget deficit by CZK 94 billion this year. At Thursday’s event timed to start at 11:55 – signifying the lateness of the move – Prime Minister Petr Fiala said if measures were not taken now, the budget deficit would be CZK 148 billion higher in two years’ time.

Reducing non-investment subsidies is intended to save the state CZK 46 billion, while reducing operating costs and wages should save over CZK 20 billion, Mr. Fiala said.

The government is also proposing that there should be two VAT rates, rather than the current three, and wants to raise levies on alcohol and tobacco.

By contrast it plans to make food, housing and medicines cheaper.

Mr. Fiala said some taxes would be raised but the impact on citizens would be minimized. Twenty-two tax exemptions will be abolished while the tax system should be streamlined.

The government also introduced changes to the old-age pension system. The prime minister said the pension reform consisted of adjustments to calculating retirement age, changes in pension levels and adjustments to early retirement.

Property tax is to be increased, the minister of finance, Zbyněk Stanjura, said on Thursday. The higher rate should bring an extra CZK 9.3 billion into the state coffers, he said.