RUZ Welcomes Abolition of Transaction Tax, But Warns of New Taxes and Levies

Bratislava 25 August (TASR) - The Republican Union of Employers (RUZ) welcomes Prime Minister Robert Fico's (Smer-SD) announcement that the transaction tax will probably be scrapped as of January 2027 and has called on the government to honour its own commitments and cover the estimated €400 million shortfall following the tax's abolition through savings on the state spending side, RUZ stated in a press release on Tuesday. RUZ said that the cost shouldn't once again be shifted onto businesses and their employees, calling for concrete pro-growth measures, which the government has been promising since the beginning of the year. "We welcome the abolition of the transaction tax; we've been calling for it from the outset. However, scrapping a harmful measure cannot be confused with pro-growth policy. We're still waiting for genuine measures to kick-start the Slovak economy," the union added. RUZ expects the government's public commitment to be honoured. "We're therefore asking the government and the Finance Ministry very directly: are you preparing new or higher taxes and levies? Yes or no? If the government's previous public promises still stand, the answer should be simple," said RUZ. Employers don't dispute the need to continue fiscal consolidation. However, they believe that consolidation must finally make a more significant impact on the state expenditure side. RUZ and the Trade Union Confederation have already presented a document outlining where savings could be found. Employers and trade unions have identified possible and applicable solutions worth almost €2 billion, and they now expect the government to have the political will to implement them. With summer almost over, Slovakia still hasn't seen the comprehensive pro-growth measures to support the economy that the government announced at the beginning of the year, said the union. RUZ has submitted almost 200 specific proposals to the state to support growth, competitiveness and the business environment. In its view, the package of 11 measures presented in June is insufficient in both scope and ambition to address the problems facing the Slovak economy. RUZ is also still waiting to be invited to discussions on preparing the state budget and further fiscal consolidation. Only around seven weeks remain until 15 October, when the government must submit the draft budget to Parliament. "If pro-growth measures are to be genuinely incorporated into next year's budget and begin taking effect as of January 2027, they must be prepared and discussed in the coming weeks. If this doesn't happen now, Slovakia risks entering 2027 once again without real measures to support economic growth," RUZ warned. It added that social dialogue is meaningful only when decisions can still be influenced, and not once the budget has already been finalised. mf/df