BRATISLAVA, July 24, (WEBNOVINY) — The Slovak Parliament in Bratislava voted on Tuesday afternoon at the start of its fourth session of this legislative term to approve a 58-point agenda of the parliamentary session. Opposition SaS MP Peter Osusky failed with his proposal to omit the amendment to the social insurance law that changes the ratio of contributions in the pension system from the agenda. He argued that the revision did not undergo regular interdepartmental review and thus the public could not take a stance on it. Parliament will thus deal with it in the first reading. The amendment cuts contributions to the second pension pillar from nine to four percent while savers can save further two percent on a voluntary basis.
MPs will definitely vote on the amendment to the VAT law designed to fight VAT evasion. The amendment to the law on a special levy to be paid by business in regulated sectors and the amendment on the special levy of selected financial institutions will be on the agenda of the ongoing session, too. Excise taxes on cigarettes and tobacco products should jump as well; a pack of cigarettes should cost some ten cents more as of this October. MPs will also deal in the first reading with the government proposal for merging two military intelligence services. Lawmakers should also vote to definitively abolish penal immunity protecting members of parliament, elect the new head of Supreme Audit Office and discuss a package of austerity measures. Parliament should elect as well the new head of the public service RTVS after it recalled Miloslava Zemkova from the post last month. The hottest candidates for the RTVS vacancy are former director of Radio Express and TV Markiza Vaclav Mika and the incumbent director of the state-run TASR newswire Jaroslav Reznik.
SITA