Budget to include VAT rebates on accommodation, culture, eating out
This new measure is intended to help stimulate consumption in the sectors most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The VAT paid by consumers on accommodation, culture and catering during one quarter of the year can be deducted from consumption in these same sectors during the following quarter, according to a preliminary version of the 2021 budget.
The measure is intended to help stimulate consumption in the sectors most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and the VAT that can be deducted by each consumer is calculated on the basis of receipts from these sectors that have their tax number and are reported to the Tax and Customs Authority (AT), through the e-receipt system.
The use of the credit accumulated by each consumer is made “by immediate discount” on consumption, said the preliminary version of the budget proposal, that this discount “takes on the nature of co-participation” and “operates through interbank clearing” through the entities responsible for processing electronic payments “which provide the technical services of the clearing and settlement system.”
The VAT used to calculate the co-payment amount does not contribute to the amount of deductions from the personal income tax (where restaurant expenses are precisely one of those considered, or for family overheads).
The entities responsible for processing electronic payments “may not access, directly or indirectly, any tax information relating to consumers or merchants, with the exception of the result of the calculation of the benefit for the purposes of its use”.
The 2021 budget proposal is expected to be delivered by the government in parliament on Monday.
