EC Vice President Jourova criticizes Czech government for planned newspaper price hike

European Commission Vice President Věra Jourová has criticized the Czech government’s plans to place newspapers in the higher VAT tax bracket of 21 percent. Jourova said the price hike would have a devastating impact on printed media, particularly the regional and local newspapers, which were already struggling to survive after a big shift of advertising to the digital space. Jourová stressed the importance of these newspapers for many people at a time of fake news and disinformation.