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SAMP: Austerity Measures of Government Will Cause Price Hikes
Thursday 07 Octtber 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, October 7 (TASR) - The austerity measures planned by the Government should be made up of more cuts on the expenditure side, Slovak Association of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SAMP) President Vladimir Sirotka said at a press conference on Thursday.
Sirotka points out that the austerity measures are set to burden mainly small businesses, and as such, will inevitably translate into a raise in consumer prices.
"We understand that it's necessary to improve public finances, because the deficit of the state budget has grown large," said Sirotka. He disagrees, however, with shifting the majority of the burden on the small enterprises.
"The VAT hike from 19 percent to 20 might not really translate into an increase in prices. But if we look at the total financial burden on small businesses, aside from higher VAT tax, there's also the raise in levies, more expensive transport due to costlier motorway stickers and higher taxes on motor vehicles, higher taxes on real property and etc. Is it possible for this not to translate into the final price, while keeping the inflation risk low?"
According to SAMP, the Government should try to save more by cutting its own expenditures, while stimulating small businesses more. "Because small enterprises won't escape to the tax havens like the big ones, but stay in Slovakia where their customers are," said Sirotka.
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