(source: Sme)
Slovaks have been working to pay their duties towards the state for a record-long period this year. This year’s Tax Freedom Day falls on July 9, so Slovaks had to work 190 days to pay payroll and income taxes to the state, analysts of the F. A. Hayek Foundation have found.
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Compared to last year, Slovaks had to work eight more days longer. This is the worst result since 1999 when Slovakia’s Tax Freedom Day was calculated for the first time, the SITA newswire reported.
The second wave of the pandemic, which hit Slovakia at the end of last year, necessitated an increase in spending significantly beyond the original budget expectations, the analysts noted.
Therefore, in May, the government adjusted the state budget for this year and at the same time created reserves for a possible third wave of the pandemic. However, the situation remains uncertain and the extent to which these reserves will have to be used will not become apparent until the second half of the year.
Nevertheless, the current extremely unfavourable state of public finances cannot be attributed exclusively to the pandemic.
“As previous governments did not use good times to create budget reserves, Slovakia was already entering this tough period unprepared,” the foundation pointed out.
The fact that the current government continues to adopt new measures and expenditures despite a high budget deficit also contributed to the current deterioration.
