Towns and villages in Slovakia will receive an additional €33 million from the national government in compensation for lower income tax revenues from individuals, said Prime Minister Robert Fico after a government session in Veľký Krtíš (Banská Bystrica region) on Wednesday, April 21.
Local governments rely heavily on income tax revenue, which has fallen steeply during the recent economic crisis, and the government has previously allocated as much as €140 million in compensation of this type since late 2009.
"The government isn't obliged to do this, but we want to secure balance in the development of towns, villages and the state," he said, as quoted by the TASR newswire, adding that individual municipalities have no legal right to call for compensation because of fiscal decentralisation policies. According to Fico, however, his cabinet decided to fill the hole in local tax revenues so that local administrations and the state could survive during the global economic crisis. Municipalities are free to decide what to spend the €33 million on.
At its session in Veľký Krtíš, the Slovak cabinet also approved the allocation of €1 million for construction of an ice hockey stadium in the town. It is the highest sum the cabinet has ever earmarked to support development in the Veľký Krtíš district. The money should be allocated by the Education Ministry, which should also contribute €100,000 to the renovation of a local elementary school, and another €100,000 to the renovation of buildings belonging to the A. H. Škultéty Secondary Grammar School, the SITA newswire wrote.
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.
