Balaz: Recreational Vouchers a Pro-business Measure

(RTVS, 'O 5 minut 12', January 20) Recreational vouchers are a pro-business measure, MP Radovan Balaz (Slovak National Party/SNS) stated on RTVS's discussion programme on Sunday. "It's a pro-business measure. We met the demands of small-sized businesses and the self-employed halfway, making sure this new measure won't pose too much of a burden for them in the initial stage," claimed Balaz. The original legislation proposed to introduce mandatory recreation vouchers for all employers. "Subsequently, we had a few rounds of talks with representatives of employers and other professional organisations, and it followed from these talks that small and mid-sized businesses with a staff under 50 employees might not be able to handle the recreational vouchers in terms of financial and administrative challenges," he said. "Therefore, we arrived at a compromise and agreed to introduce this obligation only for larger employers at the beginning and test the recreational vouchers," claimed Balaz, adding that larger businesses can handle the new obligation better than small firms. According to MP Jozef Mihal (Independent), also on the show, recreational vouchers are a good measure if an employer wants to reward an employee, seeing as they receive a bonus of €275, tax and levy-free, although Mihal expects the legislation to be challenged at the Constitutional Court, as the bill is complex and will create many implementation-related problems. Mihal also objects to the fact that firms issuing the vouchers will make a profit of up to 10 percent from the maximum voucher value of €500. If an employee has worked for a firm with a staff of more than 49 and has been with the company for more than two years, the firm is obligated under the new legislation to provide him or her with a voucher for a vacation in Slovakia. mf/mcs