Good evening. Here is theTuesday, November 14 edition of Today in Slovakia - the main news of the day in less than five minutes.
Bratislava plans to increase taxes
Bratislava mayor Matúš Vallo and the mayors of Bratislava boroughs during a press conference on November 14, 2023. (source: TASR - Jakub Kotian)
The Slovak capital wants to increase the property tax by an average of 35 percent and the waste fee by 30 percent, Bratislava mayor Matúš Vallo and the mayors of Bratislava boroughs announced on Tuesday.
"We decided to take this unpopular and difficult step with the mayors because we have no other way to preserve services and quality of life," Vallo said.
Councillors will decide whether the tax and fee will increase next month.
Bratislava and its boroughs talk about three reasons why they decided to raise taxes: limitation of their incomes by the previous governments, high inflation and economic forecasts that assume lower revenues from the main income of municipalities - the tax on the income of natural persons.
In the case of real estate tax for flats and houses, it is proposed to increase the rate, depending on the location, from the current €0.90 - €1 per square metre to €1.20 - €1.35 per square metre. The amount for the emptying of a 120-litre garbage bin in a two-week interval is proposed to be increased from €86 to €112 per year.
More stories from The Slovak Spectator website
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FEATURE STORY FOR TUESDAY
In this Slovak cave, kids fall into water and adults discover their phobias
A cave guide in Brestovská Cave. (source: P.D. for The Slovak Spectator)
Despite its small size, Brestovská Cave is as adventurous as it can get. Down below, visitors climb several ladders and stairs, walk above water, and pass through narrow and low passages. The cave is home to bats and some relict invertebrates, too.
But the cave is not the only place you can visit in the town of Zuberec.
EVENT FOR NOVEMBER
Help people without home
More than 70,000 homeless people live in Slovakia today. It is three times more than 10 years ago. (source: OZ Vagus)
Have you got some winter clothing in your wardrobe that you no longer need? Bring that stuff to the local Bratislava library on Laurinská 5. From November 8 until November 30, you can find a marked collection container in the premises of the city library. You can simply drop things into the container during the library's opening hours, from 8:00 to 19:00.
Here's what is needed: thermal underwear, long-sleeved shirts, tights, waterproof winter jackets (not coats), winter shoes, rucksacks, sleeping bags, blankets, sweatshirts.
In other news
Defence Minister Robert Kaliňák (Smer) has informed NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg about the termination of military aid to Ukraine from Slovak army warehouses. Despite this, Slovakia will offer a wide range of humanitarian, civil and technical non-lethal aid, the Defence Ministry added.
Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok (Hlas) apologised to Judge Michal Kubiš for saying that he should be threatened with disciplinary proceedings for an illegal decision in the case of the fire Vice President of the Police Force, Branko Kišš. The minister continues to insist that this emergency measure issued by this judge is illegal. The judge decided that Kišš, a whistle-blower, can continue to act as the first vice president of the police force.
More than 110 personalities expressed their support for historian Patrik Dubovský and the Nation's Memory Institute (ÚPN). Dubovský and the ÚPN became the target of threats from Deputy Speaker of Parliament Ľuboš Blaha (Smer). Dubovský filed a criminal complaint against Blaha last week for removing a portrait of President Zuzana Čaputová in his office in the parliament, which he replaced with a portrait of communist revolutionary Che Guevara. Blaha said that the ÚPN crossed all lines. There will be consequences, he added.
Korzár Spiš visited the hometown of Slovak Jozef Puška, who is facing a life sentence in Ireland for murdering school teacher Ashling Murphy. Neighbours describe his family as normal. However, many do not want to comment on the murder case.
Six members of the Judicial Council filed a motion to dismiss Ján Mazák from the position of its chair. Six of its members, Marcela Kosová, Ayše Pružinec Eren, Dana Jelinková Dudzíková, Magdaléna Hromcová, Peter Šamko and Martin Bezák, signed the motion. The eventual removal of Mazák from the post of chair would not mean the loss of his position as a member of the Judicial Council.
MPs discuss a government programme in parliament on November 14, 2023. (source: TASR)
WEATHER FOR WEDNESDAY: Tomorrow will be cloudy and rainy in many places. Rain should vanish as the day goes by. The highest daytime temperatures will rise to 14°C. The met office has issued the yellow wind warning for several districts in the west, including Bratislava, Trnava and Nitra.(SHMÚ)
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