In early January the government announced that it would cut value-added tax (VAT) on selected goods in order to slow the rise in the cost of living at a time when global commodity prices are rising. The rate of VAT levied on cement was cut from 18.6% to 5%. Meanwhile, the VAT rate applied to "social" tariffs for water and electricity (available to poor households) was also cut to 5%, while the regular tariffs will be taxed at 10%. The VAT cuts were announced just days after another government intervention to control prices: increasing subsidies on the price of butane gas used for domestic cooking. From January the price of a gas canister is capped at CFAfr5,450 (around US$10), down from CFAfr6,000 previously. The impact on price growth will be moderate, in the expectation that rising global prices should make up for some of the effect of lower taxes. The fiscal impact, however, could be slightly more pronounced in terms of foregone revenue and higher cost of maintaining price caps, eating into Gabon's fiscal surplus. Rising oil prices and output should more than meet the cost of lowering VAT, but is a concern in that it further narrows the tax base.

Officials admitted that it would be difficult to enforce the maximum price outside of the most visible points of sale in the capital, Libreville, so the actual benefit to cash-strapped households may be limited. Nonetheless, the drop in VAT on utilities will be welcomed by ordinary Gabonese, who have become increasingly exasperated that high utility tariffs co-exist with patchy supply. The interventions to lower prices were agreed upon by the government during negotiations with unions to head off the threat of a general strike in the first half of 2010 (September 2010, Economic policy).