Banks say special levy is unconstitutional

If Parliament approves the doubling of the special bank levy as of next year, banks will unite to take the legislation to the Constitutional Court, the Slovak Banking Association (SBA) announced on Monday. The special bank levy, introduced in response to the crisis a decade ago, will be increased as of 2020 to 0.4 percent of individual banks' liabilities minus their equity. Slovak banks have pointed out that the levy was originally meant to be a one-off measure. "Banks refuse to pay the increased bank levy, considering it unconstitutional, and this could have fatal consequences in the banking sector," stated the association, adding that the current bank levy equals 20 percent of banks' profits. If the levy is doubled, combined with a special tax on incomes, as much as 50-60 percent of banks' profits will go to the state.