SaS: Change of Flat-rate Expenses Will Be Ruinous for Sole Traders (2)

Bratislava, July 17 (TASR) - The opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party has asked the government not to complicate the business of sole traders and to allow them to work without restrictions, SaS leader Branislav Groehling and SaS vice-chair Marian Viskupic told a press conference on Wednesday, adding that the cabinet should deal with people working illegally rather than change flat-rate expenses. According to the opposition, changing flat-rate expenses would increase the number of sole traders looking for unofficial incomes. This government plan will affect a group of more than 250,000 people, said SaS. "The governing coalition is planning to attack sole traders and take away a number of their benefits, including the scrapping of flat-rate expenses, and this is completely unacceptable. Sole traders are often people who are self-reliant, paying a lot of money and levies for themselves," said Groehling, adding that sole traders face constant risks and earn their living without relying on the state. The government, he said, should make it easier for them to work, especially by reducing taxes. Viskupic pointed out that sole traders can reduce their taxes mainly via flat-rate expenses. According to him, more than 263,000 people used this option last year. By scrapping or modifying these flat-rate expenses, the government would take away one of the advantages from sole traders that would serve to consolidate public finances. The Social Democracy Institute, which is linked to the coalition Voice-SD party, disagrees with SaS's claims. According to institute board chairman Martin Halas, the claim that the proposed changes in the area of so-called fake, forced self-employment will cause unemployment, as well as the statement that "the transfer of employees from self-employment to regular employment would mean an increase in the number of people losing their jobs" are misleading. am/df