Slovak citizens who acquire the citizenship of another country will continue to be stripped automatically of their Slovak citizenship after parliament on Thursday, February 9, voted down an amendment to the Citizenship Act drafted by the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ), Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) and the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH).
The aim of the amendment was to ensure that those who have acquired certain kinds of residency in another country do not lose their Slovak citizenship. In addition, the legislation was designed to return Slovak citizenship to people who have lost it due to the current form of the Citizenship Act passed by the Fico government in 2010. According to the current legislation, people who apply for citizenship of another country automatically lose their Slovak one, the TASR newswire wrote. The legislation was approved by the previous government in reaction to Hungary's dual-citizenship law, whereby people with Hungarian ancestors can acquire Hungarian citizenship even if they have never lived in the country.
Parliament also turned down an opposition draft revision to the Act on Income Tax at its second reading. The opposition Smer party suggested a higher, 25-percent, personal income tax rate for taxable incomes exceeding €33,000 per year. Opposition deputies claimed that the measure would apply to about 25,000 employees, the SITA newswire reported.
Sources: TASR, SITA
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
