Opposition MPs Criticise €105-million IT Project, Migal Rejects Objections

Bratislava, 27 May (TASR) - Opposition MPs Veronika Remisova and Julius Jakab ('Slovakia'-'For the People' caucus) have criticised an upcoming €105-million IT project prepared by the Investment, Regional Development and Informatisation Ministry to combat tax fraud, describing it as non-transparent, overpriced and lacking proper justification by experts, TASR reported on Wednesday. According to them, the only purpose of the project is to cover up the real problem - the disruption of the fight against economic crime following the government's interference in the penal system. "Hungary, with a population of ten million, has introduced a similar system for €28 million. Slovakia is half its size, yet Minister Migal wants a system for €105 million. This is not efficiency; it's an outrageously overpriced rip-off," stated Remisova. She added that a €170,000 feasibility study commissioned by the ministry has been concealed, while the project has not undergone proper assessment by the Finance Ministry's Value for Money Unit. Jakab labelled the upcoming project "another rip-off", adding that "this government first creates a problem, then asks people to fork out hundreds of millions to fix it". "They cut penalties for tax fraud and let fraudsters off the leash, and now they're asking for €105 million for an IT tender to fix their own failings," added Jakab. Investment Minister Samuel Migal (Independent) rejected the criticism as unfounded. He said the entire project is currently at the concept stage, existing as a proposal for one of several potential measures, and that it doesn't involve any tender or competition for private companies. "This is a study concerning the implementation of Hungary's lorry control system, which in practice reduced tax evasion from 17 to 2 percent. There's no procurement plan or anything like it; this is an expert cost estimation that is part of the study," explained Migal. Regarding the feasibility study, he noted that it wasn't appropriate to publish all the details during the preparation of the document. "Currently, there's no reason to keep the entire text classified, and we'll gladly publish it, with sensitive information redacted," said Migal, adding that the study was prepared by Ernst & Young. He views the project as an important pro-growth measure with a potential to bring more than €200 million in its first year, with theoretical costs likely to be recouped in just six months. "Therefore, it disappoints me that the opposition spreads unfounded claims before checking all the facts," concluded Migal. jrg