ALMOST half of Slovak citizens older than 18 are against changing the current right of corporations to donate 2 percent of their income taxes to the NGO of their choice, a move the government is proposing as a cost-saving measure.
According to a public opinion poll conducted by the ACRC marketing agency between September 22 and October 4, 20 percent of respondents did not know any change was being planned to reduce the amount of taxes corporations can donate to 0.5 percent of their assessment.
The poll showed that 46 percent of respondents were against the move, while 21 percent were not interested in the matter, the SITA news agency wrote.
Inhabitants of the Banská Bystrica (60.8 percent) and Bratislava regions (53.9 percent), larger towns, and people with secondary or university education tended to disagree with the planned new tax assignation rule.
The new rule is a part of a draft amendment to the Income Tax Act currently being debated by parliament. According to the proposed revision, individuals will still be able to assign 2 percent of their income taxes to an NGO; however, the sum assigned must be at least Sk250.
If the change is approved, NGOs stand to lose hundreds of millions of crowns annually that they currently receive from corporate donors.
- Martina Jurinová
