Premier: Transaction Tax Irrevocable, Consolidation Impossible Without It

Bratislava, April 27 (TASR) - The transaction tax is irrevocable, as it brings in such a volume of money that consolidation would be impossible without it, Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) told a news conference on Sunday, adding that he wasn't talking about its scrapping, but correction of technical problems in the past couple of days. According to Fico, the former government is to blame for the introduction of the transaction tax, since it disrupted public finances. He called on the opposition to realise it. "I said that something in the tax should be adjusted, but I didn't say that it should be cancelled. The transaction tax is irrevocable at the moment, since it brings in such a volume of money we can't imagine consolidation without," said Fico, adding that the tax should bring in €700-800 million. At the same time, the premier announced that the government would soon present the consolidation package for 2026. He said that the government will continue to consolidate, even if "it hurts". However, its volume for next year will be lower, he added. Fico praised A+ rating, which was affirmed for Slovakia by the international agency Standard & Poor's (S&P). However, the agency downgraded the country's outlook from stable to negative. Fico stressed that the reason for the outlook downgrade was the global developments and not the country's failure to manage "procedures". ko