SaS: Citizens to Support State via Higher Taxes, But State Itself Not Saving

Bratislava, October 14 (TASR) - All citizens of Slovakia will pay higher taxes to the state, which isn't saving on itself, and this is why the opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party on Monday criticised the presented budget for 2025, calling on President Peter Pellegrini to veto the related consolidation package, which was approved by Parliament in early October. According to SaS chairman Branislav Groehling, trade unions and employers also disagree with the measures and haven't ruled out protests. The liberals support them. "I'm not ruling out some form of strike, and we'll discuss this with the trade unions as well as with employers and our partners in the opposition," he told a press conference on Monday. "[Premier] Robert Fico is telling people that we have the worst public finances and that people must understand that, so they must cut down on their expenditures. We rightly expected that if the people have to tighten their belts, the state would do the same. However, [Finance Minister] Ladislav Kamenicky [Smer-SD] presented a poor imitation of a budget in which there is no austerity," said SaS deputy chairman Marian Viskupic, noting that the state intends to collect almost 22 percent more from the public, entrepreneurs and companies year-on-year. "Nor do we consider it to be normal for spending to grow by 12.2 percent year-on-year at a time when consolidation is the word of the year. A deficit reduction of only €1.24 billion is spitting in the faces of all citizens. Moreover, the state is spending without reason," added Viskupic. am/df