“We are asking the government to reduce the contributions on our work for 20 percent, and when that happens, the employers will transfer this part to workers, who will then have wages that are 20 percent higher, and the state will get three times that amount back through VAT from the circulation of consumption. And that is what we are saying. The worker must get paid, and the state will get everything back through consumption – less is more,” said Peter Pišek, the Director of the Pišek&HSF company on the show Arena on RTV Slovenia, who believes that the Slovenian economy can still be very successful, despite the crises, but the business sector needs to have a serious talk with the future government and come to an agreement regarding the solutions.
The show Arena on the national RTV Slovenia recently featured Slovenian entrepreneurs who talked about their impressions of the new coalition agreement and the possible consequences for them, if the agreement’s provisions are implemented. They also assessed the risks to the Slovenian economy posed by the war in Ukraine. They drew attention to the necessity of dialogue and welcomed the incentives for the authorities to cooperate with the public or civil society, but at the same time also acknowledged that they were not too pleased with the fact that there was no mention of the economy as an important partner and stakeholder in the development of our country. The guests on the show were Branko Meh, President of the Chamber of Craft and Small Business of Slovenia, Peter Pišek from the Pišek HSF company, Marko Cigler from the Perutninarstvo Cigler poultry company, and Matjaž Pavlin from the Turizem v Zidanicah tourism company.
The crisis has affected all sectors, and the current government saved lots of people with its help
Pišek spoke of his own experience from the latest pandemic crisis as someone who runs a small business. Given that his company also has a catering sector, which had to be closed during the pandemic, this, of course, had its consequences. “It was severe, it is still difficult today, the whole thing posed a big problem for about 100 employees who were affected during this time.” Pišek called the help that the government provided to companies during the crisis “a pardon for these people so that they did not need to go to the Employment Service, because otherwise, the state would have had to pay for them there as well.” Given that his company also deals with logistics, he said that part of the transport was also shut off during the pandemic, but that transportation faced fewer problems. Pišek highlighted the lack of staff as the main problem. “There are no people available, there are no professionals available,” he said.
Pavlin’s company is engaged in tourism, which was also one of the most affected sectors. He agreed that everyone suffered the same fate, and everything, including the measures brought about by the pandemic, shocked them. “Tourist vouchers not only saved our existence but also had a long-term effect. Slovenians have started to explore their homeland more, which we did not do before. We made great first impressions,” he said. Cigler, who works in agriculture and the economic sector, where he is continuing his family’s tradition, said: “Agriculture had already been affected in the last two years, and now, the economy is feeling the effects of the crisis. Namely, the Covid crisis has exacerbated the situation in agriculture, which was not exactly exemplary even before. In the economy, the main changes happened in the area of strategic planning.” Branko Meh also highlighted good economic growth and, above all, emphasised the help of the state, which has made the largest difference in this area.
The lack of staff is the biggest problem
The host of the show, Igor Pirkovič, and his guests then also touched on the thoughts of the likely future Prime Minister, Robert Golob, on helping the economy, for which he has a clear vision, and he does not intend to give it up, regardless of criticism from the current government and other businessmen. Namely, the businessmen do not agree with the tax legislation being changed, nor do they agree with part-time work. Golob replied that they will follow the Scandinavian models, which represent the most developed economies, and that those who think differently, clearly want Slovenians to remain a nation of slaves. Pišek commented on Golob’s announcement based on his own experience, saying that he agrees with Golob that it is important to create jobs that create high added value, but added that there are fewer of these than the opposite. “We support rewarding employees, but quickly come to a problem when we do not have enough suitable people for the available jobs, so we have to make them suitable; we also bring people in from other countries, and there, the complications arise again, with the bureaucracy and the permits.” Businessmen agree with Pišek, and Pavlin also pointed out that the coalition agreement does not even talk about tourism, however, he pointed out some of the challenges the tourism sector is facing, including the lack of staff.
Given that the crisis has affected both employees and the employers who are responsible for their employees and are obliged to pay wages to the workers every month, Pirkovič also touched on their feelings or fears that they may have had during the covid crisis when some of them may have been faced with the situation of not being able to pay the salaries to their workers on time. The businessmen agreed that they had survived many crises so far and that family businesses in particular, probably only survived because all employees are like one big family – “the most important thing at the moment is personnel. Right now, there is no option of development, or even existence, without them.”
According to Pišek, the system of progressive taxation would mean the creation of a disincentivising environment for the economy. He also emphasised the importance of the Chamber of Craft and Small Business of Slovenia, which is actually the compass for the Slovenian business sector. “At the moment, there is no promise of anything good,” Pavlin said, “which is why employment relationships should be as flexible as possible and not the other way around, which is what the future government is promising, especially in terms of seasonal work, which is a common problem in tourism.”
When it comes to sole entrepreneurs with normalised taxes and their role in the future, based on the coalition agreement, Pavlin pointed out that countries with high taxes absolutely earn less than those with lower taxes. With this, Cigler added that most companies are generally and socially responsible and contribute to the well-being of the state. He also believes that creating a stimulating environment can result in the expansion of production, which then benefits the state. Restricting the grey and black economy is also a goal of the Slovenian economic sector, and both could be limited by lowering taxes and contributions, so the businessmen agreed that lower taxes are certainly important for the development of the Slovenian economy, especially in terms of taxation of workers’ wages. “We are asking the government to reduce the contributions on our work for 20 percent, and when that happens, the employers will transfer this part to workers, who will have wages that are 20 percent higher, and the state will get three times that amount back through VAT from the circulation of consumption. And that is what we are saying. The worker must get paid, and the state will get everything back through consumption – less is more,” Pišek called on the future government.
Companies are considering moving abroad
The coalition agreement is supposedly quite heavily influenced by the Left party (Levica) – specifically in terms of nationalisation, which Meh agrees with, pointing out that nationalisation of companies was also part of the political programme of the Left party, which they later removed. The businessmen do not understand why the opinion of the Left party, which is actually in the minority, is being taken into account to such an extent. “My company is a small company, and we are still here, so I think we will also be able to overcome this crisis, but with this coalition agreement, the forecasts for the future are not exactly the best,” Meh said, who hopes that the coalition agreement will be changed before it is adopted. The businessmen also stated that they have nothing against the future government but want to talk to its representatives and hopefully come to an agreement regarding the solutions that will help the Slovenian economy develop, especially considering that many Slovenian companies are considering moving abroad, which is very worrying, Pišek said.
“The energy prices have had an important impact on agriculture, and I will be a very critical interlocutor of the future government when it comes to this question because we demand that the situation be taken care of quickly, as this is not sustainable. Food security is of the utmost importance,” Cigler said. Meh agreed with him, stressing how big the impact of the Ukrainian crisis has been on the business sector, and reminded everyone of Golob’s promise, who said that he would stabilise the energy prices.
Sara Kovač
