Head of The Slovak Towns and Villages Association Branislav Treger announced on Wednesday that the association is gearing up for protests across Slovakia, including in the capital, adding that the rallies will start as of July 1. According to Treger, the shortfall in municipalities' budgets based on a recent amendment to the income tax is to reach €612 million by the end of next year. The association’s head estimates that local governments will cut subsidy schemes and restrict support for people's leisure-time activities, sports and cultural events, as well as social services. Meanwhile, there will be 900-percent increases in gas prices in some cases and food prices will rise approximately by 40 percent by the end of the year. It is these items that will cause the cost of education, for instance, to rise, he warned.
Source: TASR
