IN 2009 Slovaks had to work 11 days more than last year in order to fulfil their tax obligations, with Tax Freedom Day - the day on which people nationally begin earning solely for themselves - moving back to June 3, the F.A. Hayek Foundation, which works out the date each year for Slovakia, said on June 2, the TASR newswire reported.
This year’s date puts the country’s economic redistribution level back to 2004, said the foundation’s president Ján Oravec. He blamed the outcome on the global economic crisis but also on growing spending by the government.
“The government should observe common sense and save,” Oravec said, as quoted by TASR.
“This is bad news for taxpayers,” Ivan Švejna from the Slovak Taxpayers Association told TASR. “The government is rejecting facts and reality.”
The foundation noted that it has been critical of both current and previous governments alike, as both had failed to save during times of high economic growth.
“Slovakia has come off worse as a result of the failure to take advantage of robust growth in recent years and to create reserves and save,” said foundation analyst Martin Chren.
According to the foundation, people earning gross salaries of €1,000 per month receive 48 cents for each euro earned, TASR wrote. TASR
