Self-employed with Lowest Incomes Shouldn't Have to Pay any Social Levies

Bratislava, 27 March (TASR) - Tradesmen and other self-employed individuals with an annual income not exceeding 10.5-times the subsistence minimum won't have to pay any levies to social insurance funds, not even the micro-levy, which is set to come into force as of 1 July this year. This stems from an amendment to the social-insurance law, which is being submitted to Parliament by a group of MPs from the coalition Voice-SD and Slovak National Party (SNS) in cooperation with the Labour, Social Affairs and the Family Ministry, Labour Minister Erik Tomas (Voice-SD) announced at a news conference on Friday. At present, the threshold in question equates to just under €2,900, and it will increase each year. "That's exactly the same threshold that applies to tradesmen and the self-employed, up to which they don't pay any taxes and don't even have to submit a tax return. So, that's why we chose this threshold. Of course, this threshold rises each year in line with increases in the subsistence minimum," explained Tomas. According to Tomas, this will have a positive impact on some 30,000 self-employed individuals. "It will also help self-employed people who are already pensioners, parents on parental leave or individuals with disabilities. We're also helping these groups if they want to earn a little extra money through their trade," he said. This also removes the problem of the self-employed who are registered but don't carry out any activity, or do so only occasionally. They would otherwise have to take themselves off the register in order to avoid paying contributions. "In this way, we're allowing even inactive self-employed and tradesmen to keep their registrations and be able to take on occasional individual work if needed," he said. The exemption should have an impact on the state budget amounting to €21 million this year, as the change will take effect as of mid-year. Next year, the impact is estimated at €42 million. According to Tomas, the Labour Ministry will cover these shortfalls from savings that it is continuously making, and no extra money will be needed for them. "We're really saving a lot by putting some benefits in order. In particular, I want to point out that we're succeeding in the struggle against fake sick leave," emphasised the minister. Last year, the ministry saved €140 million in this way, and a similar amount is expected this year, he added. ko/df