2023-05-12 12:52:50
The VAT reduction on basic foods that came into force on January 1 is not being applied correctly in large stores, as Facua has once again verified after analyzing 1,000 products in the eight most important supermarkets in the country during the month of May . Specifically, 438 of the 1,000 prices analyzed in Carrefour, Alcampo, Dia, Aldi, Eroski, Lidl, Mercadona and Hipercor are higher now than in December, 44% of the total.
“Supermarkets have increased their profit margins, there is no other explanation,” said the general secretary of Facua, Rubén Sánchez, at the press conference in which they presented the report for the month of May. In the first four months of the year they also detected irregularities, but they were not as pronounced as those in May, they say.
Since they detected this problem, the association denounced these eight chains before the National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC) for dodging the government’s tax reduction. In this sense, Sánchez regretted that the Ministry of Agriculture is “looking the other way” when presented with this data and there is “so much opacity” with the investigation that he announced that he would carry out among large surfaces.
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Of the eight chains analysed, the association has found more irregularities in Aldi, where 55% of the products have become more expensive than they were before the tax cut. They are followed by Carrefour (52%), Hipercor (48%), Dia (45%), Lidl (44%), Alcampo (44%), Eroski (37%) and, lastly, Mercadona (30%).
Of the total number of products that have risen in price despite the VAT discount, 33% are fruits and vegetables, 18% are olive and sunflower oils, and 15% are milk and dairy products. In addition, 14% are rice and pasta, 8% are legumes and the rest are eggs, flour and bread.
An analysis by Fedea revealed that the VAT reduction on basic items has a “positive, although insignificant” effect on the redistributive effect of the tax. The authors of the study estimated that the average savings for all Spanish households is 39.14 euros, which means 6.50 euros per month per household, with families with the highest incomes benefiting the most from the reduction. .
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