Polish lawmakers voted in favour of extending a freeze on energy prices, while the prime minister said he would sign a decree extending 0% VAT on food into 2024.
The European Union member state slashed tax on food staples to zero in February 2022 to help consumers deal with surging inflation.
Zero VAT On Food
"I decided that tomorrow or the day after tomorrow I will sign a decree on zero VAT on food," Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told parliament.
Government spokesman Piotr Muller told state-run news agency PAP that the 0% VAT would be extended for one quarter in the expectation that a new law could be adopted during that time.
Morawiecki's nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party came first in an October election and was given the first shot at forming a government by the president. But it lost its majority to an alliance of pro-EU parties.
On Monday Morawiecki will face a vote of confidence in parliament which he is expected to lose, clearing the way for a new government under the leadership of former European Council President Donald Tusk.
Economic Policies
Poland's central bank has cited uncertainty about the economic policies of the incoming government, including on the issue of VAT on food, as a reason behind its decision to leave interest rates on hold on Wednesday.
Also on Thursday lawmakers voted in favour of a law that would extend a freeze on energy prices into the first half of 2024. The bill was put forward by lawmakers from the coalition led by Tusk that looks set to take power.
It will now go to the Senate, the upper house of parliament.
