Holding their first summit at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS) on Wednesday, companies in foreign ownership said that Slovenia was attractive to foreign investors, but could be even more.

The goal of increasing foreign direct investment (FDI) from EUR 10.5bn now to EUR 15bn in five years is also contained in a document called FDI Declaration.

Presenting the document, the head of the Foreign Investors' Forum Vojmir Urlep said that the goal was attainable, but not without effort.

The declaration identifies elements to attract both domestic and foreign investors, as well as challenges faced by the Slovenian economy, which they want the government and other decision-makers to rise up to.

Prime Minister Miro Cerar assured businesses that the government had similar goals.

He listed the country's solid economic growth and other macroeconomic indicators, and highlighted as its main assets access to expertise, qualified labour force, technology, geographical location and well-developed transport infrastructure.

He admitted that the country was uncompetitive when it came to taxation of highly-qualified staff, an issue that was also raised by participants at two round-table debates held at the summit.

This is an issue that should be tackled first in a tax reform, Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek said. While agreeing, Finance Ministry State Secretary Mateja Vraničar Erman said all measures should be balanced.

Cerar advocates a mini tax reform, a restructuring of tax burdens for the benefit of business and the whole society. "We need to get there after a thorough reflection and that's what we are doing."

Cerar announced that he would meet some of the eminent business officials and ministers for consultation on Tuesday, after which the debate on tax change would be taken to a political level to evaluate which measures were feasible.

While the government is working on a restructuring of taxes, businesses want a comprehensive tax reform. The GZS and the chamber of tax advisers have proposed a reform that would reduce the tax burden on business by EUR 328m and increase net pay of 577,000 employees in private and public sectors.