The Slovak Towns and Villages Association (ZMOS) has rejected the state budget draft for next year, warning that it will cut funding for local governments by €246 million, ZMOS chair Jozef Bozik stated following Tuesday's meeting at the Finance Ministry in Bratislava.
In addition to this amount, Bozik said there is a one-percent reduction to be reckoned with during the second consolidation phase, as revenue from personal income tax dropped from 56.1 to 55.1 percent (and is expected to decline further to 53 percent next year).
"We are talking about a total volume of almost €290 million, which is a huge amount that puts municipal budgets under great pressure," said Bozik.
He noted that they also asked for a solution regarding the missing €12.1 million needed to cover an increase in the salaries of education staff falling within the remit of municipalities, as these funds are transferred from municipalities' budgets to private and church schools and educational facilities.
Source: TASR
