BRATISLAVA, May 25, (WEBNOVINY) – The government is considering taxing dividends of private entities. “We are considering whether to keep the current policy of levies on dividends or to start standard taxing of dividends paid to private individuals,” Prime Minister Robert Fico informed at a congress of the National Association of Employers (RUZ) on Friday.
Furthermore, Fico confirmed that the government would definitively downsize the current 9-percent contributions to the second pillar. One of the possibilities is that savers could pay a portion of their contribution to the saving pillar from their own net income. The income tax paid by corporate entities should surge from the current 19 percent to 23 percent, while introducing a progressive income tax is being considered for private individuals. When recovering public finances, the government cannot apply any across-the-board measures such as downsizing salaries in the state and public spheres as they are low, explained Fico. The government does not want to increase the value-added tax or excise taxes except for alcohol and tobacco taxes.
The prime minister told employers also of the plan to set up a special pro-growth fund where money from the special levy for banks and regulated companies would be accumulated. Banks should contribute an additional EUR 50 million and regulated entities EUR 100 million. “We want to put this money into the pro-growth fund, for instance, for loans from Eximbanka,” said Fico. These funds would thus return to the economy.
To keep this year’s public finance deficit at 4.6 percent of GDP will require adoption of additional consolidation measures already this year. Next year the government plans to squeeze the deficit to some 2.95 percent of GDP.
SITA
