The Prime Minister promised to raise taxes during his election campaign, explaining that he himself does not need lower taxes. And he has, to the chagrin of the entire working population, made good on his promise. Not only that, but when we compare the performance of the governments of Janez Janša and Robert Golob, we find that under the latter, some levies and contributions have also increased (or will continue to increase). A review of the new tax burdens introduced by the current government shows a fundamental conceptual difference between the previous and the current government. Janez Janša’s government tried to reduce financial burdens on citizens, while Golob’s government is actively increasing them.
At the moment, we can expect an increase in the healthcare tax, the introduction of a long-term care tax, the introduction of a property tax, an increase in VAT on “sinful” products; increased network charges, and the idea of, if you can believe it, a tax on dogs, which is an idea said to be circulating in government circles.
An increase in healthcare tax is coming
In 2023, government representatives triumphantly announced: “We are abolishing the supplementary healthcare contribution!” This triumphalism has become the sad truth: the government has not abolished the healthcare contribution, but has merely merged it with compulsory health insurance, explaining that this is to fight against increases in supplementary health insurance. In the end, taxpayers paid for this move. The wobbly merger of the two health insurances into a single healthcare contribution has harmed the insurers, who have been compensated (from the budget) to the tune of tens of millions of euros after the settlement. One of the effects of the government’s move has been to reduce the compensation paid by private insurers to policyholders, as the Insurance Supervisory Agency has found. But the absurdity of the Golob government’s measure does not end here. The new, merged, single health contribution will increase in March. Today, it is still 35 euros, but according to unofficial information, it is expected to rise by just under 3 euros soon, reports the Delo newspaper. This goes completely against the coalition partners’ explanation of why it was necessary to “abolish” supplementary health insurance. We will therefore have around 36 euros a month less, just from the increase in the compulsory healthcare contribution.
Golob also shifted the financing of long-term care to pensioners
Slovenians can also look forward to the arrival of a mandatory contribution for long-term care in the coming months. This will start in July of this year. The new contribution will amount to 1 percent of the gross salary for employees and 1 percent of the net pension for pensioners. The government of Robert Golob has, therefore, shifted the financing of long-term care from the budget to pensioners and employees themselves. The opposition Slovenian Democratic Party (Slovenska demokratska stranka – SDS) has tabled a bill in this term of office that would relieve pensioners
from paying the contribution. “Almost 60 percent of pensioners receive pensions below the poverty threshold. As pensioners have already been severely disadvantaged during this mandate, we in the SDS party parliamentary group propose that they should not be burdened with the new tax,” Zvone Černač said at a press conference at the time. However, coalition MPs rejected the bill. The contribution will “relieve” a pensioner receiving a guaranteed pension of 748 euros of around 7.5 euros per month and 90 euros per year.
Paying more for “sinful” drinks
The price of energy drinks and drinks with added sugar has also risen this year. This is due to an increase in value-added tax (VAT) from the reduced rate of 9.5 percent to the standard rate of 22 percent. The government of Robert Golob explained the increase in the tax rate or the increase in prices by highlighting the detrimental effect that these drinks have on the health of the population. It is not expected that the measure will lead to the population drinking less of the well-known sugary fizzy drinks, but it will certainly worsen the financial situation of everyone living in Slovenia. The effect of the VAT increase was immediately reflected in the prices of the “sinful” products. Prices increased significantly at all retailers. The extent to which your personal finances will be affected by the Golob government’s measure depends, of course, on your consumption habits. If you drink one “sinful” drink a day, which has risen in price by about 20 cents, your personal finances could lose about 6 euros per month and 72 euros per year.
Will responsible dog owners finance irresponsible ones?
These days, there is also public talk about introducing a tax on dogs. The Animal Protection Bill is being drafted under the auspices of the Ministry of Agriculture. As the Ministry explains, this is an option that is currently still in the “idea” stage. The dog tax would affect all dog owners, and the money raised would finance the operation of animal shelters. If the government were to actually translate this idea into a law, responsible dog owners would effectively be funding the behaviour of irresponsible dog owners. The contribution would be collected at the municipal level. The amount of the contribution is not yet known. The tax has been heavily criticised by the general and professional public.
A new system for calculating network charges, a new blow for consumers
The new system for calculating network charges is one of the hottest topics in the country at the moment. The Prime Minister promoted the change for a long time, but then he suddenly changed his opinion. Robert Golob started behaving like an opposition politician and launched a war against the Energy Agency. While the war rages behind the scenes, electricity consumers are being hit with absurdly high bills, and the biggest blow has been dealt to the economy, which is demanding a return to the old system of network charging. The difference in the amount on the monthly bill is different for everyone. For some, the network charge has doubled, and we have even received bills from customers who have seen a 300 percent increase in their electricity bill!
Golob’s “knockout” for property owners
Probably the biggest hit yet will come in the form of the planned property tax. This, according to the current version circulating in the public domain, will hit everyone who owns more than one property. The planned tax is upsetting the Slovenian public, who perceive it as grossly unfair. For example, owners of small weekend houses or vineyard cottages would also have to pay the tax, while owners of luxury villas, who own only one property, would not have to pay the tax. The tax would amount to 1.45 percent of the generalised market value of a property, as determined by the surveying authority. It will be levied on the second and each subsequent property owned by an individual. If the value of the second home is 200 thousand euros, the annual hit to the wallet on this home alone will be 2,900 euros.
Ž. K.
