THE BUSINESS Alliance of Slovakia (PAS) welcomes the new government's intention to maintain the stability of public finances and improve development conditions for all types of businesses. On the other hand, PAS is concerned about several commitments, chiefly in the tax and social areas, which may cause the stability of public finances to deteriorate along with the quality of the business environment, SITA wrote.
"These commitments may lead to a higher general government deficit and a higher financial burden on businesses," said PAS executive director Robert Kičina on August 7.
PAS is also concerned that the government will increase the amount of regulatory control of business that in the future will lead to larger budget deficits as the government transfers certain responsibilities of the state to businesses. "We will closely monitor these developments in the upcoming period," added Kičina.
As far as the tax system is concerned, PAS would prefer a gradual cut in the VAT flat rate rather than a lower VAT rate on selected goods. Similarly, the overall easing of the financial and regulatory burden on businesses would bring higher benefits to the Slovak economy than the anticipated selective support of specific areas of the economy.
14. Aug 2006 at 0:00 | From press reports