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Poll: Simplified Tax System Would Be Slovakia's Competitive Advantage
Wednesday 23 June 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, June 23 (TASR) - It is the tax system which should become Slovakia's competitive advantage in the struggle for foreign investors, according to a poll carried out by tax consultancy BMB Leitner in co-operation with the American Business Chamber in Slovakia, Slovak-German Trade and Industrial Chamber and Slovak-Austrian Trade Chamber in May and published on Wednesday.
Almost two-thirds of the 673 approached foreign investors labelled the tax system in Slovakia as a burdensome or very burdensome. Most respondents find the Slovak tax legislative as highly complicated, four-fifths thinking it is a result of insufficient rules of application and frequent changes.
From the investors' point of view, the tax rate doesn't play a significant role. The poll shows that they still find reduction of the levy burden important, but they label a change in the qualitative parameters of the system as potentially the most beneficial, especially when it comes to improving the stability of tax legislation and reduction of administrative red tape.
"The companies that are investing in Slovakia need to be sure that their business plan, including the tax burden, will be relevant for a longer time than one year," said Renata Blahova from BMB Leitner.
In addition, the polled businessmen claim that Slovak tax offices are too bureaucratic. On the other hand, the positive sign is that 70 percent of the respondents don't view the tax offices as corrupt. They would also like to see electronisation of the related administration; and they are strictly against increasing the number of bureaucrats in this sphere.
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