BRATISLAVA, March 15, (WEBNOVINY) – According to Finance Minister Ivan Miklos, the proposed tax and payroll levies reform has no alternative. He maintains that changes are necessary, even though they might hurt some groups. Miklos thinks that if some of his coalition partners do not agree with the proposals, they should present an alternative. However, he does not consider partial reforms a solution, as they only bring in more costs without any results. The minister is convinced that there is not enough time and a fundamental political position should be presented next week.
“The easiest thing is to say that we are not going to do that, because it will hurt. But in that case, what I would consider constructive would be that the one who says that also presents an alternative proposal. Only saying ‘no, that will hurt,’ is not what I consider responsible enough. That is light populism,” said Miklos told Tuesday’s news conference. He also added that simplifying the tax and levies system is not his invention but a priority of the Cabinet arising from the government program statement.
Miklos defends the proposed changes, based on which some self-employed individuals and people with work agreements would pay more in taxes and payroll levies, claiming that the two groups presently pay very little money into the system. He denies that this move will lead to a general increase in taxes and payroll levies. The situation of employees and even some self-proprietors will improve. The ministry has calculated that in the first year, the reform will be budget neutral. Taxes and levies could even go down in proportion to the GDP.
The coalition’s discussion on the reform remains open. As KDH Chairman Jan Figel told reporters after an informal meeting of coalition party leaders with Prime Minister Iveta Radicova on Monday, the debate is still at a working level. One of the results is a request for a more exact analysis on the impact of individual alternatives to amend the current system. “This is where we should measure twice and cut once because the impact and consequences will really be far-reaching. We don’t want to underestimate anything,” Figel said after the meeting.
MOST-HID Chairman Bela Bugar said that the working group will meet again after analyzing the impact of forthcoming changes. According to him, MOST-HID is also ready to discuss other proposals. After the meeting, he confirmed that his party and the OKS still maintain their reservations to the tax and levies reform. “This means that we are awaiting a different outcome of talks,” said Bugar. In Figel’s words, there already is a consensus on supporting the plan to simplify and unify the entire system of social and health insurance contributions and the intention to reduce red tape.
SITA