Prague, 12 May 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Newspaper publishers in the Czech Republic have lashed out at a planned VAT increase for the daily press that they say could kill off traditional news outlets.

The tax hike could be the "final nail in the coffin for this type of media" in the EU member state, the Czech Publishers Association said on Friday.

The government's consolidation plan for the state budget, presented on Thursday, foresees an increase in VAT on daily newspapers from 10% to 21%.

"The higher taxation could bring independent journalism to its knees," warned Petr Honzejk, a commentator for the Hospodářské noviny newspaper. For comparison, he cited the situation in Germany, where newspapers are subject to a reduced tax rate of 7%.

The outlook is brighter for books, which, according to the plans, are in future to be completely exempt from VAT in the Czech Republic.

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