Finance ministry officials expect tax revenues to be raised by an extraordinary windfall earnings tax on refineries for 2022 to exceed 600 million euros, an amount planned to soon be distributed to help consumers counter higher costs of necessities.

The government has decided to proceed with this extraordinary tax once the EU has adopted relevant regulation, at a tax rate decided by Brussels. This means that the measure’s resulting tax revenue will be collected in 2023 and injected into next year’s budget.

However, according to reports, the 600 million-euro amount will be used before it is collected, probably before Christmas.

The government is likely to soon announce new subsidies complementing an existing consumer support program for basic goods, planned to also offer some relief to middle-income earners.

The new subsidy program could be announced when the 2023 state budget is voted in Parliament on December 17.