SaS: SNS's Local Taxes Bill Will Lead to Higher Taxes and Bullying of Businesses

Bratislava, 15 May (TASR) - The opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party has warned against a legislative proposal from the junior coalition Slovak National Party (SNS) regarding local taxes, claiming that it will have a significantly negative impact on both entrepreneurs and the public through higher taxes and the "bullying" of businesses, TASR reported on Friday. The bill has already passed its first reading in Parliament, and SaS is calling for its immediate withdrawal, as it shows signs of violating the Constitution. "SaS was the only party in the entire Parliament that voted against this harmful proposal. For small and medium-sized enterprises it's a toxic mix of a higher tax burden, less predictability and more red tape. This would yet again worsen the business environment and punish those who create jobs in Slovakia," stated SaS leader Branislav Groehling. The base tax rate for buildings currently stands at €0.033 per square metre, with municipalities not allowed to set the highest rate at more than ten times the lowest one. According to Groehling, the bill would completely remove the upper limit as of 1 January 2027 for buildings with a single establishment on an area of more than 500 square metres or with multiple establishments over 1,500 square metres. According to him, the proposal also introduces new obligations for entrepreneurs, such as the requirement to state the number of establishments and the exact dimensions of sales areas in their tax returns. Groehling described this as "pure bullying", adding that the bill should be withdrawn immediately. SaS vice-chair Marian Viskupic pointed to what he called "a purely arbitrary nature and a violation of the principle of equality", calling into question the constitutionally of the proposal. "If there's a single establishment with a sales area over 500 square metres in a building, the higher tax rate will apply to the entire building, including warehouses, offices and completely different business activities," he remarked. According to Viskupic, the thresholds are absurd in that the tax will change completely if such thresholds are exceeded, even though there is a minimum difference between 499 and 501 square metres. Furthermore, the lawmakers have failed to justify how they came up with these exact rates in terms of how they are connected to traffic or municipal waste. "Moreover, there's no ceiling on the new rates in the amendment, so municipalities will be able to approve back-breaking taxes as of 1 January 2027," warned Viskupic. jrg/df