Danko: SNS Won't Back Down from Transaction Tax Issue

(STVR, 'O 5 minut 12', April 27) The coalition Slovak National Party (SNS) won't back down from the issue of the transaction tax adjustment, said its leader Andrej Danko on STVR's discussion programme 'O 5 minut 12' (Five Minutes to Twelve) on Sunday. Danko said that the ultimate goal is complete scrapping of the transaction tax, but now he wants to push at least for its abolition for self-employed and entrepreneurs with an annual turnover up to €100,000. The respective proposal has already been submitted to Parliament. SNS first wants to discuss it within the coalition, but it cannot prevent the opposition from backing it, either. Danko denied that he would be coordinating his actions with the opposition. He noted that Premier and coalition Smer-SD leader Robert Fico has also admitted the need for the transaction tax adjustment. "In the first step, I am debating it with Robert Fico and it looks like we will come to an agreement with [Voice-SD leader] Matus Sutaj Estok as well. In the second step, when there will be a vote on it, I cannot prevent the opposition from voting for it," stated Danko. "I would like the tax to be completely scrapped, but preserving the government is important to me," he added. The SNS leader admits that scrapping the transaction tax would mean a shortfall in the state budget, but he thinks that money can be found to compensate for this shortfall. Opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) leader Branislav Groehling, also on the show, called the financial transaction tax a "stupid tax", adding that only two countries in the world have it, namely Venezuela and Hungary. Robert Fico and [Finance Minister Ladislav] Kamenicky came up with it, the government approved it, then it came to parliament, where MPs from Smer-SD, Voice-SD and SNS, including Mr. Danko, voted for it, and then President Peter Pellegrini signed it. So what are they doing now? Should self-employed be happy that they are going to make some adjustments?", he said. Groehling declared that SaS would support SNS's proposal to limit the transaction tax. However, he doesn't view it fair to introduce various exceptions. Therefore, his party will resubmit a proposal for a complete scrapping of this tax, which didn't make it through Parliament last December. He called on SNS to back such a proposal as well. The chief of the liberals said he doesn't believe that the transaction tax will bring the expected €700 million to the state budget. The money to make up for the shortfall in the budget could be found if the state starts saving on itself, for example by scrapping unnecessary ministries, limiting unnecessary purchases or providing more targeted social benefits, stated Groehling. ko