Viskupic: Transaction Tax Hindering Slovak Economy and Must Be Abolished

Bratislava, May 26 (TASR) - The transaction tax is slowing down Slovakia's economic activity and harming not only entrepreneurs and companies but all citizens of the country, while other measures adopted by the government — such as the tax on sugary drinks — have not helped economic growth, opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party MP Marian Viskupic declared at a press conference on Monday. "The transaction tax must be abolished immediately. It's destroying entrepreneurs, it's destroying the Slovak economy, and ultimately, of course, all citizens of Slovakia will foot the bill. We've repeatedly warned about the harmful effects of the transaction tax. No one from the coalition listened to us, not even the president, who signed the law and is now criticising the transaction tax. Nor did Andrej Danko (SNS) listen, even though he voted for it — and when we submitted a proposal to abolish it in Parliament, he voted against its abolition," said Viskupic, noting that on Monday Danko is supposed to discuss adjustments to the transaction tax with Finance Minister Ladislav Kamenicky (Smer-SD). Viskupic emphasised that the transaction tax should be completely abolished and presented several suggestions regarding where funds could be found within the state budget if the tax were eliminated. One such suggestion is collecting more in value-added tax (VAT). "If we collected VAT at the average level of the EU, at least €500 million would be added to the state budget annually. Moreover, the system of three VAT rates is confusing and creates a breeding ground for tax fraud. That's why we in SaS propose reducing the number of rates to two, with a vision of gradually merging them. That's the simplest solution," he added. Viskupic also proposed reducing the number of public sector employees by ten percent, or abolishing the Tourism and Sport Ministry and the Investments, Regional Development and Informatisation Ministry. According to him, Slovakia currently doesn't have the funds to provide social benefits such as free school lunches and free train travel. These government measures should be replaced with more targeted solutions instead, while in the case of the 13th pension, SaS would replace it with a social benefit of approximately half the [total] amount in a manner that would mean that the most financially vulnerable seniors would receive the most. Economic growth could also be supported by introducing a flat income tax for individuals and legal entities at a maximum rate of 19 percent. "Danko could go to Minister Kamenicky with all of this. This is what Slovakia deserves and is what would help to kick-start economic growth — instead of this government and this minister squeezing us with high taxes in order to build their luxury villas," commented Viskupic. mf/df