THE SLOVAK government has introduced some new taxes and raised the rates of others in order to patch a hole forecast for next year’s budget. Apart from a special levy on banks and an earlier hike in excise tax on cigarettes it has also introduced new, more efficient tools against tax evasion, the SITA newswire wrote, adding that measures to stop excise tax evasion are expected to bring an additional €30 million to state coffers next year.
On September 21 the cabinet also adopted a draft bill on excise taxes on alcoholic beverages. Even though it does not increase excise tax rates on beer and spirits or introduce an excise tax on still wine, as the coalition has failed to reach agreement on these sensitive issues, the issue of imposing an excise tax on still wine is still not closed for Finance Minister Ivan Mikloš.
“I’ll keep convincing our partners that it would be a good solution,” Mikloš said, adding that ministries want €1.5 billion more than he has proposed in his draft budget and this could be a way to bridge the gap.
