Slovakia’s symbolic Tax Burden Relief Day falls on August 23 this year, one day later than in 2025. According to the M.R. Štefánik Conservative Institute (KI), average earners hand over 63.59 percent of their income to the state, meaning they effectively need 232 days of the year to cover all mandatory payments. The figure is based on the latest calculation of the overall burden of mandatory payments on people in 2025, using the methodology of the European Investment Centre (EIC) and KI.
According to KI director Peter Gonda, the burden has increased because mandatory payments have grown faster than labour costs and gross wages, partly as a result of the second consolidation package. “This shows how large the state’s footprint is in the economy, and how little room is left for people to decide what to do with the money they earn,” Gonda said at a press conference on Friday.
The rising burden is closely linked to a significant increase in general government revenue and expenditure. Between 2014 and 2025, revenue from taxes and levies increased by €25.7 billion, while expenditure rose by as much as €33.4 billion. This difference points to inefficient management and the waste of taxpayers' money, noted Gonda.
According to KI, the overall burden of mandatory payments in Slovakia exceeds the levels seen in the Czech Republic, Poland and Austria. Compared with 2014, the burden has increased by more than three percentage points. "In Austria, it's basically at a very similar level, just 0.3 points lower, while in the Czech Republic, it is 2.2 points lower, but in Poland, it's as much as 7.4 points lower," said Gonda.
In 2025, the mandatory levies to social and health-care funds, value added tax (VAT), personal income tax and excise duties accounted for the largest share of mandatory payments, but the overall burden isn't only made up of deductions from wages. KI's calculations therefore include more than 50 administrative payments that burden income, property, consumption and businesses.
Source: TASR
