Taraba: Transaction Tax Should Be Discussed and Its Effectiveness Evaluated

Bratislava, April 7 (TASR) - The financial transaction tax must remain in place until the end of this year as it's already part of the state budget, but it's also important to evaluate its impact and consider its future, Environment Minister Tomas Taraba (a Slovak National Party/SNS nominee) stated after Monday's government meeting. According to Taraba, SNS leader Andrej Danko, rightly raised the issue of the transaction tax. "It's a tax that hasn't existed in Slovakia until now, which means we can't evaluate its effectiveness yet. My stance is clear. This tax must stay in place until the end of the year, as it's part of the budget. I spoke with Andrej Danko and I believe he understands that he can't change anything with the opposition in this matter under the current coalition agreement," Taraba stated. However, according to Taraba, it'll be necessary to assess whether the new tax has brought the expected €600 to €700 million into the budget, as estimated by the Finance Ministry. "If this number isn't even close to being met, then, of course, the question of reconsidering the transaction tax will be completely legitimate when preparing the budget. I see no problem with that," the minister added. According to Education Minister Tomas Drucker (Voice-SD), his party was also not enthusiastic about the new tax. However, he reminded that the entire coalition agreed on it as part of the consolidation plan for this year. "It certainly has its flaws and issues, but we made that decision, and I think now we need to wait and address all the problems," he stated after the government meeting, adding that it's not right to express disagreements within the coalition through the media. lin