BRATISLAVA, June 25, (WEBNOVINY)- Living standard, i.e. growing prices and low wages is currently the hottest problem in Slovakia. “What we need to revive is the entire business sector, further jobs and growth of real wages,” Prime Minister Iveta Radicova stated in the “Saturday Dialogues” program on Slovak Radio. Radicova believes that European Commission recommended higher taxes on incomes of private individuals and corporate entities would not result in higher wages and new jobs.
The prime minister said that the first step was cuts in public expenditures while now the problem with evading taxes and social and health insurance levies is on the agenda of the day. She said that reserves in their collection are the first source available now. The prime minister underscored that it is known that there is high tax evasion here mainly regarding VAT and excise tax while the social security provider Socialna Poistovna registers high claims towards non-payers and debtors. The Cabinet is also dealing with secondary insolvency, said the PM. She considers wage growth of crucial importance. Therefore her government’s priorities are higher pays, better collection of taxes ad compulsory levies, more employees and higher general government revenues.
Governments have little possibility to influence growth of prices since it is mostly motivated by global prices growth, Radicova maintains. She however is not considering reducing VAT on foods. She said that her predecessor, SMER leader Robert Fico promised to cut VAT on foodstuffs to ten percent but never took the measure. Radicova said that she had consulted this step with finance ministers of other countries which implemented this tool but she was told that the measure failed to have the desired effect. She said that the lower VAT is of no help until most foods are imported to the country.
Radicova also explained why she did not have an opponent from the ranks of the opposition in the program. She was to debate with SMER-SD boss Robert Fico. Radicova said that the reason was not that she does not want to discuss with him. She argued that when Fico was the prime minister and was invited to Slovak Radio to assess his government’s one year he chose to be the sole guest of the same program.. However the prime minister says she will not have problems in the future to discuss with Fico though as she remarked communication with a man who does not weigh his words and is very offensive is not simple.
SITA
