Former MasterChef Estonia winner and food blogger Jana Guzanova launched the petition earlier this month calling for VAT to be lowered to 10 percent on foodstuffs. The rate rose to 24 percent on July 1 and there are no exceptions for food, unlike in most European countries.

It has now been signed by over 64,000 people making it one of the most popular petitions on the Citizen Initiative Portal (Rahvaalgatus.ee) of all time.

Guzanova spoke to Vikerraadio on Monday morning about why she created it.

"This year, when it was my birthday and I had guests over... Compared to previous years, when we talked about travel, food, and positive memories, this year we spent an hour and a half discussing food prices in Estonia. And I thought 'I don't want to live in a country where I have to spend my birthday talking for an hour and a half about food prices'," Guzanova told "R2 Hommik!"

Guzanova, who works in fraud prevention at startup Wise, said politicians often claim Estonia's flat tax system is good and that tax exemptions create bureaucracy.

However, a broader perspective is also needed, she believes.

Guzanova pointed out that Estonia's national debt is the lowest in the European Union. Data from Eurostat shows it is at 23.6 percent.

"We could also look at freezing indexed expenditures. If we only keep raising taxes, we also become unattractive to foreign investors. That's simply not a sustainable solution," she said.

Politicians, including Minister of Finance Jürgen Ligi (Reform), have said businesses will pocket the difference if prices are lowered. The show asked how this can be prevented.

Guzanova pointed to Spain as an example.

"In Spain, when a tax cut was made on food products, prices actually reflected it to the tune of 90 percent. And what's needed for that is just a slightly stronger-than-average consumer protection culture — price tracking, various tactics and studies to make sure these things work, and to talk about them, to bring price discrepancies to light," she explained.

Guzanova said targeted tax reductions would not only benefit consumers but could also give a helpful boost to domestic food producers.

She also noted that Estonia's restaurant sector is in a difficult situation. Unlike in many Western and Northern European countries, there are no tax exemptions for them either.

"We've all looked at restaurant menus and seen prices go up, but I know how hard it is for them to make even the slightest profit. The situation is troubling," she said.

Guzanova said political parties have already approached her about entering politics.

"Yes, I've been approached, but I'm cautious for now. What matters most is that this initiative remains truly a citizens' initiative," she said.

According to Guzanova, any price reduction should follow the example of neighboring countries, where the VAT on food is around 10 percent. A reduction from 24 percent to 22 percent would not be enough.

Over the past year, opposition parties SDE, Center and EKRE have called for lowering VAT rates on food.

Currently, food prices in Estonia are 109 percent of the European Union average (Eurostat, 2024), while the average gross salary falls 36 percent short of the EU average (Eurostat, Q1, 2025). Estonians spend 19 percent of their income on food, compared to the EU average of 13 percent.

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