The coalition Freedom and Solidarity party will propose that income from a tax on Russian oil sponsored by Finance Minister Igor Matovic should be used to slash other taxes, such as VAT on petrol and diesel, party leader and Economy Minister Richard Sulik stated at a press conference in Parliament on Thursday. As he added, if this does not pass, the liberals plan to veto the tax on Russian oil. In Sulik's view, using income from a tax on Russian oil to reduce VAT on petrol and diesel would be "appropriate and fair".
Finance Minister Matovic has claimed that the management of the Slovnaft oil refinery supports the introduction of a special tax on Russian oil and has pledged not to increase prices at petrol stations. In response to this, Sulik contacted Slovnaft general director and board of directors chair Oszkar Vilagi to verify the statement and was told that Slovnaft will guide its actions according to its business policy and the situation on the market. Sulik is therefore convinced that the prices of petrol and diesel will go up.
The SaS chair also cast doubt on Matovic's prediction that the tax on Russian oil will yield €300 million annually. He pointed to estimates made by the Financial Policy Institute, according to which it is likely that the figures will be only €50 million this year and €25 million next year.
As for the anti-inflation set of measures worth almost €1.3 billion, Sulik announced that SaS would not support this in Parliament and he would not even vote for the bill to be discussed via a fast-tracked procedure.
Source: TASR
