Ljubljana - The Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS) opposes proposed changes to the income tax act, which were recently endorsed by the government. It expressed concerns about the impact of this on the economy as it reiterated its support for tax relief measures.

The GZS opposes the changes, "despite some solutions that contribute to greater equalisation of taxation of various types of work", reads a press release.

The amendments in the proposal have "a significant - overwhelmingly negative - impact on the economy, mainly through an increased income tax burden on higher-income individuals, who are already the most heavily taxed", the chamber wrote.

The GZS continues to advocate solutions that would mean tax relief in regular employment relationships, as it believes this would be the best protection against other forms of contractual relationships based on more favourable tax treatment. At the same time, this would address brain drain.

The organisation is against piecemeal changes in the proposal, which neutralise the expected beneficial effects that all taxpayers would benefit from under the new income tax act, adopted in March.

The GZS management is also critical of the reintroduction of what it considers to be a tax discriminatory solution in taxation of the sale of shares by individuals, which means a potential change in the ownership of many export-oriented, development-oriented and socially responsible companies.

The government adopted on Monday a set of changes to five tax laws that for the most part reverse the tax cuts put in place by the previous government in a bid to shore up public finances and fashion a tax system that is more distributive.

The centrepiece of the package are amendments to the income tax act that will benefit those with the lowest income, while most others will get slightly higher take-home pay, albeit lower than they would if the current law remained in place.

Even before the government green-lit the proposal, all main employers' organisations expressed their opposition to the draft changes, including the GZS and the Chamber of Trade Crafts and Small Business (OZS).

They believe that the changes would reduce citizens' net income and that the money intended to relieve the overall labour burden would only go to certain categories, especially in the public sector.