SaS: People Will Bear Brunt of Planned Tax on Cashless Transfers

Bratislava, July 19 (TASR) - The introduction of a tax on cashless transfers will impact the inhabitants of Slovakia in the end, despite the Finance Ministry's claims that the bulk of the resources will be collected from businesses, as businesses will translate higher costs into the prices of their goods and services, the opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party warned at a press conference on Friday. SaS pointed out that a plan to tax all cashless operations, including card payments and the sending of salaries to private accounts, is being seriously discussed by the Finance Ministry. "According to preliminary estimates that we've had wind of, the total proceeds have been calculated as follows: state institutions will pay about €46 million, households directly €43 million and businesses €566 million via this tax," claimed SaS MP Marian Viskupic. "Even though the ministry asserts that the brunt of the impact will be borne by businesses, this will fundamentally affect every single person because at the end of the day it will simply be the public who will foot the bill," warned Viskupic. SaS chair Branislav Groehling called on Finance Minister Ladislav Kamenicky and Prime Minister Robert Fico (both Smer-SD) to abandon this plan and address the consolidation of public finances by cutting expenditures on the side of the state. If the government wishes to save money, SaS representatives believe it should start by sticking to its own promises. "Robert Fico was claiming that he could envision laying off 30 percent of clerks at the ministries. But in reality, the ranks of state employees have swelled by almost 15,000 in comparison to 2023. We also need an additional €1.4 billion for salaries. If the government wants to save money, here's a clear example of how to do it efficiently, simply, while keeping its own promises in the process and cushioning people from these effects," added Viskupic. mf/df