KDH: Consolidation Measures Hitting Ordinary People Hardest

Bratislava, 11 February (TASR) - The consequences of fiscal consolidation are being felt mainly by ordinary people, opposition KDH party chair Milan Majersky warned at a press conference on Wednesday. Majersky pointed out that people have become poorer in terms of real salaries, and that, in his view, the cost of the government's incompetence was deducted from their January pay. KDH also proposed several measures to support the economy, including improving conditions for doing business, returning to a flat income tax and abolishing the transaction tax. "The reality in Slovakia is that we have lower net salaries and more expensive food. This has been caused by Robert Fico (Smer-SD) and his government," said Majersky. According to him, the government decided not to save on itself, ministries or ministers, but on the public, who have paid the price of consolidation. "We reject the idea that people should consolidate from their own wallets," he added. KDH MP Jozef Hajko pointed out that even though health-insurance levies have increased by 1 percent, the money isn't going to health-insurance companies but into the state budget. "What [the government] presented last year with the state budget is phantom consolidation. It's about savings that hang in the air. In reality, the government isn't saving on itself and is providing untargeted contributions," said Hajko. The Christian Democrats also proposed that the government should support investment for economic growth. "This government is unable to support investment, which is why we're calling for a significant improvement in the business environment. The government is destroying it," stressed Hajko. In his view, profits should be allowed to be reinvested and the country should return to the original single flat tax introduced in 2004, which significantly supported economic growth. KDH also supports reducing levies in certain cases and making employment more attractive for employers, which it considers to be essential. "We support abolishing the pointless transaction tax," said Hajko. He believes that if the government had followed the measures proposed in September 2024, a third consolidation package wouldn't have been necessary. mf/df