Slovakia will not have its tax sovereignty protected by a constitutional law.
A draft constitutional bill proposed by the Conservative Democrats of Slovakia (KDS) which the party said was intended to ensure that Slovakia maintains exclusive authority to decide on direct taxes and social and health insurance contributions, failed to win enough support in parliament. According to the KDS, decision-making powers concerning taxes should not be delegated to the European Union, as tax policy may influence the economy and a flat tax may help in times of crisis, especially for small and medium-sized businesses.
Slovakia is one of the few countries with a flat income tax rate, of 19 percent, for both private individuals and corporate entities, the SITA newswire wrote on February 18. The question of setting a common tax policy for all European Union member states has cropped up repeatedly in EU discussions. The KDS draft needed 90 votes to be passed, but the KDS has only four MPs in parliament. The draft eventually won the support of 59 deputies in the 150-member parliament. SITA
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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