Prime Minister Robert Golob: The debate on tax changes will be public, transparent and wide-ranging
Statement following a meeting between members of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia and members of the parties of the government coalition | Author Bor Slana/STA
Slovenia needs a new social agreement that will provide the answer to the question of how to distribute the burdens arising from the (new) needs of society. For this reason, today, the coalition discussed the starting points for changes in the tax and education systems.
EU countries generally came to the realisation a while ago that additional public services and social well-being require adequate resources, so they have been gradually increasing the share of duties in their GDP. The EU average has increased by 2.5 percentage points, while Slovenia has maintained the same level of duties in its GDP for the last ten years.
Prime Minister Golob said that currently, Slovenia is one of the EU and OECD members that have the highest tax on labour and one of the countries with the lowest tax on property. In overhauling the tax system, the coalition is pursuing a key objective: to build a modern, transparent and resilient tax system in which tax will depend more on the economic power of taxpayers. The planned changes will be aimed at ensuring the transparency of the actual assets and actual income.
The current tax system is encumbered by many special features and exceptions. Therefore, the coalition agreed to build the new tax system on new foundations. With regard to providing additional resources, an in-depth review of the current system will first be carried out. "The debate will be public, transparent and wide-ranging. We will seek social consensus on how to collect sufficient tax resources to change Slovenia into an even more just society," said the Prime Minister.
The coalition deputies and Government representatives also discussed the education system, which needs to be adapted to new trends. The expectations of the profession in this regard are much greater than that of the general public. The education system is one of the crucial subsystems for the functioning of society and individuals. The Prime Minister stressed: "Schools and programmes must be adjusted to the current challenges, which are green and sustainable development on the one hand and digital transformation on the other."