Opposition Blasts 2025 Budget for Higher State Spending During Consolidation (2)

Bratislava, November 28 (TASR) - Opposition lawmakers won't support the 2025 budget proposal, as the government plans to increase its own spending despite planned consolidation measures that will hurt households and businesses, Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) and Progressive Slovakia (PS) concurred during the House debate on Thursday. The opposition pointed out that the 2025 budget plans higher spending for every single government ministry and a significant increase in public administration costs. "The people will pay €5 billion more so that the government can increase its spending by €3.7 billion in 2025. Such a 'consolidation budget' will cause a pronounced slowdown in the economy and high inflation, which will hurt everyone as well as the economy," stated MP Marian Viskupic (SaS). He underlined that Slovakia will become the only country within the eurozone to consolidate and increase its state-budget spending at the same time. "The year-on-year growth in state spending is supposed to equal more than 12 percent, while the government plans to collect more than an additional 22 percent y-o-y from households, the self-employed and businesses to compensate, and all of that with 2-percent growth in the economy at the very most," warned Viskupic. He also pointed out that the 2025 deficit will reach the same level as in 2023, which doesn't indicate a well-performed consolidation under any conceivable metric in his view. This sentiment was echoed by MP Stefan Kiss (PS), who warned of an expected negative outlook for the domestic business environment and growing household costs. He added that the 2025 budget will increase poverty and hit the poorest social groups the hardest. "This budget, a budget of the past, maintains the current state of affairs, exacerbates existing problems and doesn't give a thought for the future of us and our children because it takes away from the people and makes no savings on the part of the state," said Kiss. mf/df