FinMin says package of tax amendments ready
In an interview with the Saturday supplement of daily Delo, the minister said the package had been given the coalition's go-ahead, so she now plans to present it social partners.
"We are preparing solutions that address what were pinpointed as the most critical issues last year and would tackle administrative barriers in meeting tax obligations."
She mentioned taxation of workers posted abroad or those posted to Slovenia, which the companies concerned highlighted as a key tax issue that needs to be sorted out to make the business environment more competitive.
Another issue is taxation by flat-rate expenses. "The available regime does not stimulate entrepreneurs, while it also enables abuse of the status of sole proprietor, which we want to prevent."
As the government recently reviewed the annual report on the effects of certified cash registers, Vraničar Erman tasked the Financial Administration to put forward potential amendments to the system.
Considering that Slovenia is entering a pre-election period when tax changes could be problematic, the minister said that the ministry's proposals were "tax-neutral; they bring simplifications for taxable persons so I hope to get support for them".
Commenting on the pension reform introduced in 2012, the minister said she believed it was producing results because the inflow of new pensioners is below projections.
"Transitional periods under the old reform will be completed in 2019. But I'd wish myself to start concrete talks with social partners on solutions that would have to be implemented beyond 2019 to keep the costs of the pension purse in check."
To secure the sustainability of the pension fund in the long run, the minister hopes agreement would be reached on the demographic fund. "Not as a substitute for further adjustments to the pensions system but as a safeguard for financing the pension fund beyond 2035."
She called for caution in forming the fund because the revenue transferred to it would be removed from the current public expenditure, so the latter should be curbed in order to finance the future expenditure for pensions.
"As the talks indicate at the moment, we have reached consensus on how to balance these two interests and I hope we'll also find a consensus on other issues because I want us to keep the unity of state asset management."