BRATISLAVA, September 19, (WEBNOVINY) — Smokers may be the ones patching up holes in next year’s budget. Finance Minister Ivan Miklos said that a preliminary agreement exists on an earlier approval of increasing the excise tax on tobacco products. “The increase should have been put into effect as of March 1, 2013 but we have suggested its implementation a year earlier,” said Miklos after the meeting of social partners on Monday. Slovakia needs to increase the tax burden on tobacco products in compliance with European directives. If the Finance Ministry got ahead with its latest proposal, Slovakia would reach the level required by the European Union one year earlier.
Miklos has also referred to some agreements that are shaping up regarding other measures, for example introduction of a bank fee to the Deposit Protection Fund also for legal entities or increase in the fee in the National Nuclear Fund from the power producer Slovenske Elektrarne. The minister also believes that there is space for dissolving reserves for potential higher costs on debt service considering a lower growth of the debt.
“We have come to a preliminary agreement with SaS that the excise tax on tobacco products and the bank fee could be unobstructed. I will table the proposal to the Cabinet on Wednesday since all bills related to the budget need to be submitted by the end of this week,” Finance Minister Ivan Miklos said to journalists on Monday.
The Finance Ministry originally projected the state budget for next year with the overall expenditures of EUR 18.443 billion, revenues at EUR 15.27 billion and deficit totaling EUR 3.1772 billion. However, these figures did not consider budgetary priorities of individual parties and were based on a more positive outlook of the economic growth. Coalition parties are currently seeking sources to cover their priorities and deficits caused by slower growth of the Slovak economy.
SITA