NGOs To Be Exempted From Financial Transaction Tax

Bratislava, November 28 (TASR) - Legal entities in the non-profit sector set up as public benefit organisations that fulfil the purpose outlined in the income-tax law will be exempt from the financial transaction tax, with the extension of this exemption to other entities approved by the House on Thursday as part of an amendment to the Value Added Tax (VAT) Act. The new transaction tax will be paid by both legal entities and individual entrepreneurs as of April of next year. Non-profit organisations exempt from the transaction tax include, for example, civil associations, foundations, church or religious societies, the Slovak Red Cross, etc. The exemption is being extended to some legal entities that were not primarily set up for business purposes, including public bodies in fields such as science, culture and tourism. The tax will not apply to payments by the National Bank of Slovakia, bailiffs, bankruptcy trustees, certain payment operations in connection with public procurement, state funds for culture, health, and environmental protection, eKolok transactions, and non-business operations of public universities and health-insurance payments for healthcare. The amendment will standardise the tax rules for domestic and foreign payments. If taxpayers can identify recharged costs on a transaction-by-transaction basis, these will be taxed at a rate of 0.4 percent with a €40 cap. If the costs cannot be identified, the full amount will be taxed without the cap. The changes will take effect on January 1, 2025. lin/df