STA, 1 August 2022 - The latest income tax reform, introduced by the previous government in the spring, significantly affects public revenue, the Finance Ministry said on Monday, announcing changes that are to enter into force next year. The government plans to annul the increase of the general tax relief and the cut in the tax rate for top earners.

The amendments to the income tax act which were passed in March and took effect retroactively from the beginning of the year raised the general tax relief from EUR 3,500 to EUR 4,500 and should raise it to EUR 7,500 by 2025. They also reduced the tax rate for the top earners from 50% to 45%.

But ministry plans to cancel all this. In line with its proposal, the general tax relief will go up only to EUR 5,000 on 1 January 2023 with no other rises to follow.

"We're not abolishing all reliefs envisaged by the law passed at the beginning of the year," Finance Minister Klemen Boštjančič told the press today.

The ministry proposes raising the general tax relief by just EUR 500 rather than EUR 1,000, because of inflation and the rising costs of living, he explained.

It also proposes raising the amount for income for which additional general tax relief is still acknowledged from EUR 13,716 to EUR 15,000. "Thus net income of those with the lowest income will be higher than it would be if the income tax was left as it is," the minister said.

A special tax relief is proposed for the young up to the age of 26.

The tax rate for the top earners should go back to 50%, from the current 45%, while income from rents will again be taxed as it was before 2020.

The tax on capital that was this year cut from 27.5% to 25% should not be changed.

The changes will, however, affect corporate taxes and should bring EUR 90 million more in tax revenue to the national budget.

Because of the changes to the general tax relief, EUR 180 million more will pour into the budget in 2024 and EUR 170 million in 2025, the ministry said.

Meanwhile, employees on the minimum wage will receive EUR 316 more a year than this year. Under the current law, they would receive EUR 157 more. Those with higher wages will get less than they would under the current law but still more than they will receive this year. Those receiving average wages will receive EUR 130 more a year and those earning double the average wage will get EUR 165 more a year, the minister said.

STA, 28 July 2022 - The government decided to reduce value added tax (VAT) on energy products for all users at Thursday's session, Finance Minister Klemen Boštjančič told a press conference. The reduced tax rate of 9.5% will apply for the heating season, from 1 September to 31 May next year.

The government proposes to reduce VAT on supplies of electricity, natural gas, firewood and district heating. These are being proposed in a bill on emergency VAT measure to mitigate rising energy prices, which is being put forward to parliament to be passed in emergency procedure.

"By temporarily reducing the VAT rate from 22% to 9.5%, the government is addressing the impact of energy price increases during the peak energy consumption period, the heating season. The lower rate applies to all consumers of these energy products, both households and commercial," the Government Communication Office said in a press release.

The lower VAT on electricity and natural gas adds to the measures already taken to regulate the prices of these energy products, but when it comes to firewood and district heating, the reduced VAT rate is the first such measure the government is taking to mitigate price hikes, Boštjančič said.

VAT reductions cannot be applied to heating oil due to a European directive, and the government has limited options for wood biomass, where it cannot regulate prices. "We hope that the reduction in this area will not translate into higher margins of traders," he noted.

In the next steps, the government will also address the regulation of heating oil and district heating prices.

The lower VAT will result in a roughly EUR 130 million shortfall in the state budget, some EUR 40 million less this year and EUR 90 million less next year. The positive impact on households is expected to be between a few hundred euros and more than a thousand euros during the heating season, according to the minister.

He also announced that the government is "very likely" to prepare a supplementary budget for this year. "It is no secret that both the expenditure and revenue sides will be quite different from those in the adopted budget," he said.

Changes to the existing budget will be prepared while adopting the 2023 and 2024 budgets, and discussions on these will start after 20 August.

STA, 14 July 2022 - The MPs passed in a 52:27 vote on Thursday an omnibus act filed to parliament with voter signatures to change eleven laws passed under the previous government. The laws have been deemed by the 8 March Institute NGO as harmful to equality, human rights and the rule of law. The opposition SDS plans to challenge the act at the Constitutional Court.

The act on reducing inequalities and harmful political interference and ensuring the respect for the rule of law - the name under which it was filed to parliament - restores the legislation to the state before it was amended by the Janez Janša government either in fast-track procedures or without consulting experts.

The act has enjoyed the support of the parties that formed the new government after the 24 April election since it was presented this spring.

It prevents political staffing in the police force, foremost the National Bureau of Investigation, and interference in independence of state prosecutors.

The legal basis for the entry of platforms such as Uber onto the Slovenian market is being eliminated, and environmental NGOs will again more easily take part in planning procedures.

The culture minister will lose some powers in awarding public funds in public tenders while the Culture Ministry's expert commissions will gain some.

The act changes the corporate income tax act in that it lowers the basis for partly recognised entertainment costs and costs of oversight bodies.

Finance Ministry State Secretary Tilen Božič said during today's debate that this particular change will increase annual budgetary revenue by EUR 2.6 million.

The construction law, which excluded architects and landscape architects from being in charge of construction projects, will also be restored to the previous state. This has upset civil engineers, who have announced they will fight the latest changes with all legal means.

The act moreover changes the composition of councils at education institutions where the number of staff representatives was reduced, and foreign students will no longer have to have EUR 5,000 in their bank account as one of the conditions to study in Slovenia.

The act was endorsed by the coalition Freedom Movement, Social Democrats (SD) and Left, who said they thus met their pre-election pledge of cooperation with NGOs.

Voting against were the opposition Democrats (SDS) and New Slovenia (NSi), which argued it would be better to amend each of the 11 laws separately to enhance transparency, a point also raised by the National Assembly's legal service.

The SDS and NSi also find it problematic that the act cannot be put to a referendum as it contains changes to the corporate income tax act.

SDS MP Dejan Kaloh said claiming the changes passed under the previous government had "harmful consequences" was premature due to the short period since the legislation was passed.

Coalition SD MP Meira Hot meanwhile stressed the previous government had "planted" into coronavirus emergency legislation "a number of changes that had little to do with the pandemic but have permanently changed some social and systemic relations".

Today's debate largely focussed on changes to the weapons act which narrow down the eligibility to buy semi-automatic firearms.

The SDS argued this would amount to abolishing some sports, but Interior Ministry State Secretary Branko Lobnikar said the act does not ban any sport weapons. He explained the EU has made purchases of these weapons more difficult in the wake of terrorist attacks in Europe.

The 8 March Institute started thinking about drafting the act in November and collected some 15,000 signatures in spring to file it to parliament, while 5,000 are needed.

"We were wondering how to put an end to the feelings of helplessness when the previous government was trampling on democracy," its head Nika Kovač told the press before today's vote, happy that by supporting the act the coalition kept its pre-election promise of working with the civil society.

"Natural disasters call for emergency measures but the last two years were a natural disaster for the country's democracy," said Goran Forbici, head of one of the NGOs which helped the 8 March Institute in the omnibus bill effort.

Kovač said the whole effort was not easy as they had been constantly attacked and criticised, and announced legal action against those who insulted them and told lies at the Home Affairs Committee session on Tuesday.

Forbici, head of the Centre of NGOs of Slovenia, responded to the view that it would be better to amend each law separately, saying it would take four years to complete the process.

STA, 9 May 2022 - The Financial Administration has set up a special portal to advertise and auction off properties seized from tax offenders. The first online action will take place on furs.edrazbe.si on 20 May.

The portal features a section listing foreclosed properties that are up for sale and a section where public online auctions are held live in real time.

"Prospective buyers will be able to access information at a single secure gateway. At the same time they will be able to apply for and take part in a public online auction from the same gateway. Bidding will be anonymous," FURS said in a press release on Monday.

They believe such a solution reduces the risk of collusion between potential buyers compared to a traditional public auction, thus making auctions more effective.

The part of the portal where property is advertised for sale is public and can be accessed without registration or identification.

Access to the part where auctions are held is restricted to pre-registered users, who have to register with their electronic identities.

The site is available in several languages – just look for the flag in the top right corner

STA, 28 April 2022 - The government has extended the validity of reduced excise duties on electricity, motor fuels, heating oil and natural gas for heating for three more months until 31 July.

The reduced excise duties on energy products first kicked in on 1 February as part of a package of measures to mitigate the impact of energy price hikes on the population and businesses.

The government later also capped the retail and wholesale prices of regular petrol and diesel fuel. It has recently also extended the cap on the prices of heating oil by another month.

Announcing a new extension of the reduced excise duties after the cabinet session on Thursday, the Finance Ministry said it was trying to help the population and businesses cope with the high oil prices by fiscal policy measures as well.

The reduced excise duties are 35.9 cents per litre of petrol, 33 cents per litre of diesel, 7.875 cents per litre of heating oil and 85.5 cents per megawatt hour of natural gas for heating.

Unless the government extends by the end of this month administered prices of most motor fuels, these are expected to go up next week.

Estimates by the newspaper Finance show petrol prices could exceed EUR 1.60 a litre on 1 May unless the government extends the price cap. Diesel could cost EUR 1.82 a litre, taking into account reduced excise.

As of February the excise duty on electricity was reduced from EUR 3.05 per MWh to EUR 1.525 per MWh for small consumers and from EUR 1.80 to EUR 0.90 per MWh for large consumers (over 10.000 MWh per year).

The reduced duty has been extended by three months, while the temporary freeze on network charges remains in force until the end of April.

Asked about a potential extension or new measures to mitigate price hikes beyond the planned periods, the Infrastructure Ministry has not provided an answer.

At the beginning of April, Prime Minister Janez Janša said the government would continue to intervene as long as necessary to contain high electricity prices, until these are reduced through a change in the European formula for the calculation of electricity prices. The funds were to come from state-owned power producers.

STA, 11 March 202s - The National Assembly endorsed on Friday amendments to the income tax act that bring higher take-home pay across the board, lower tax on capital gains and a lower top tax rate.

The legislation was slated for passage late last year but was put on the back burner because the coalition did not have a majority in parliament and due to the threat of a referendum pushed for by the Left.

But after Prime Minister Janez Janša in January raised the prospect of holding the referendum along with the general election in April, the Left abandoned the plan and said it would try to tweak the legislation after the election.

The vote was 45 in favour and 40 against today, the missing votes provided by MPs of the National Party (SNS) and Pensioners' Party (DeSUS), which are opposition parties but tend to vote with the government.

The centrepiece of the legislation is a gradual increase in the general tax relief that all taxpayers are eligible for. It will rise from the current level of EUR 3,500 to EUR 7,500 by 2025.

Average pay would thus net EUR 260 more in 2022, EUR 520 more in 2023, EUR 780 more in 2024 and EUR 1,000 more in 2025, according to Finance Ministry calculations.

The tax rate in the highest income bracket, for those making more than EUR 72,000 per year, will be cut from 50% to 45%, and income tax brackets will be indexed to inflation.

The rate of tax from income from interest, dividends and profits has been cut from 27.5% to 25%, with tax-free status kicking in after 15 years of ownership.

Rental income tax will be reduced from 27.5% to 15%, which is coupled with a reduction in normalised costs.

Several other kinds of tax relief will be available for seniors over the age of 70, firefighters and civil protection members, and employers hiring people below 29 or over 55 years of age.

The government has billed the tax cuts as a much needed relief in Slovenia's high-tax business environment that will promote competitiveness and ensure sustainable economic growth, and business organisations have welcomed in particular the prospect of lower labour costs for high-skilled professions.

The centre-left opposition and trade unions, on the other hand, have described the legislation as handouts for the wealthy that will impoverish the tax coffers and make it more difficult to finance social programmes.

STA, 10 March 2022 - The opposition Left (Levica) has tabled a bill introducing a tax on empty and large houses and apartments to tackle the shortage of homes as estimates show that there are about 175,000 empty apartments around the country.

According to the party, real estate agents estimate that around 30% of all real estate transactions are purchases of real estate as an investment. "This trend is the consequence of an absence of any kind of housing policy and inappropriate taxation of real estate," the party said.

It noted that revenue from taxes on real estate and other assets were "shamefully low" in Slovenia, accounting for just 1.8% of all tax revenue, while the OECD average is 5.7%.

Estimates show that there are 175,000 empty apartments in the country, while there is demand for 30,000 public apartments that would be offered for rent, the Left said.

The new tax would be paid by real estate owners and could not be transferred to tenants or other users of the real estate.

The tax would be calculated based on the value of the real estate as determined in the mass appraisal of real estate. If the owner or their close family members permanently resided in the building, 120 square metres of residential surfaces would be deducted from the figure, meaning people living in such or smaller apartments would not pay the tax.

The bill proposes different tax rates for real estate depending on their use, with the highest rate envisaged for empty real estate.

STA, 4 February 2021 - The Finance Ministry has unveiled a new draft law on cryptocurrency taxation. It proposes a 10% taxation rate and a general tax exemption on up to EUR 10,000 of redeemed cryptocurrency per year. The ministry expects public feedback by 21 February.

The proposal regulates the tax on cryptocurrencies, which are defined as a digital form of currency without an official status, issued neither by a central bank nor by another public authority.

The proposed solutions would apply to all natural persons who pay taxes in Slovenia, but not to legal persons and natural persons that hold cryptocurrencies as a business asset.

A natural person who buys and sells cryptocurrency in their own name and on their own account would not be considered to be carrying out a business activity, regardless of the number of cryptocurrency transactions carried out.

Under the proposal, the tax would be paid on the value of the cryptocurrency transactions realised in a calendar year. The exchange of cryptocurrency into fiat currency and the purchase of goods, services or other property with cryptocurrency would all count as redemption.

Meanwhile, a tax exemption would apply to a maximum of EUR 10,000 of the total amount of cryptocurrency realisations in a single calendar year.

The tax base would be determined by deducting the amount of the exemption from the sum of the value of all redemptions in a calendar year.

The resulting positive difference would then be reduced by normalised costs equal to 50% of this difference, with a tax rate of 10%.

If a person were to make a loss in a calendar year, they would have to prove this loss to the authorities and report it on their tax return.

Individuals would have to calculate the tax themselves, as the sum of the value of tax for each realisation of cryptocurrency during a calendar year. They would have to submit the data in an online tax return by 28 February for the previous year.

An individual who fails to submit a tax return or to provide adequate documentation for a set period of time could face a fine of between EUR 250 and EUR 400, while those who submit incomplete or false data could face a fine of up to EUR 5,000.

The Finance Ministry estimates that under this proposal, the state budget revenue would amount to between EUR 100,000 and EUR 500,000 per year in the first few years.

The first proposal on cryptocurrency taxation was put forward by the ministry in October last year.

At that time, the proposal also provided for a 10% tax for natural persons in the case of exchanging cryptocurrency for fiat currency and purchases made with cryptocurrency, without normalised costs.

The threshold for tax liability was set at EUR 15,000.

An alternative option offered at the time was to pay tax on the profits made, which would be the difference between the value of the cryptocurrency at the time of realisation and at the time of acquisition.

STA, 26 November - Financial Administration officers have discovered 11 tonnes of lose tobacco hidden inside 75 foil wrapped cardboard boxes in a lorry with Slovenian license plates in what is a record such bust.

The Financial Administration (FURS) hit upon the illegal cargo on Tuesday as its staff inspected a lorry operated by two foreign nationals who were without an employment contract.

FURS said the damage to the national budget should the cargo be sold on the black market would be at least EUR 1.8 million.

Nekomu se je ponesrečilo #Blackfriday 'nakupovanje'.?
Zasegli smo 11 ton pretihotapljenega tobaka ?, zaradi katerega bi bil proračun oškodovan za kar 1,8 mio€ ?.

Več pa v novički: https://t.co/HsJE6A0IqT
P.S. Za vse tiste, ki sprašujete za prijatelje - dražbe ne bo.❤️ pic.twitter.com/ouHaRRB5z3

— Finančna uprava RS (@FinancnaUPR) November 26, 2021

In a jocular post on its Twitter profile FURS said someone had a mishap with their Black Friday 'shopping'. They also said that there would be no auction as the confiscated goods would be destroyed.

On inspecting the lorry carrying the undeclared goods, FURS officers established as many as ten violations of various legal provisions.

STA, 19 October 2021 - The Murska Sobota District Court has opened a formal investigation against Justice Minister Marjan Dikaučič over suspicion of tax evasion and document falsification, the web portal of the commercial broadcaster POP TV has reported. The minister has denied all allegations.

The District State Prosecution in Murska Sobota asked the court to open a formal investigation in August 2020, while a criminal complaint against Dikaučič had been filed there by the Financial Administration (FURS) back in August 2017.

The case relates to the time when Dikaučič, who was appointed justice minister in mid-June, was the liable person in the company BGA and the company Prevozi Žižek in receivership, based in Gornja Bistrica, south-east of Murska Sobota.

Preliminary inquiries allegedly established that Prevozi Žižek avoided paying value added tax (VAT) when selling goods to BGA under fictitious contracts, which were allegedly signed by Dikaučič.

The plan was to sell cargo vehicles through two companies in Croatia and Germany to avoid paying EUR 52,000 in VAT, the portal 24ur said on Tuesday.

The district state prosecution confirmed at the beginning of September for the portal it had received the relevant criminal complaint from the FURS in August 2017 over the listed suspicions.

It said that two years later it had sought legal assistance from the Bosnian authorities. Having received a reply in February 2020, the prosecution said it had filed for a formal investigation with the Murska Sobota District Court on 24 August 2020.

At the time, Minister Dikaučič denied the allegations for the portal. "I handed the entire documentation for the alleged act to the police in 2019 and was heard by the court in 2019. Since my signature on the documents was obviously falsified, I proposed to the court for a graphologist to verify the authenticity of the signature," he said.

The minister added that he had "nothing to hide, all the documents are with the relevant authorities, which I trust will do their job correctly".

Allegations against Dikaučič have been circulating in public ever since he was put forward as the candidate for justice minister earlier this year, suggesting he worked with shell companies in his previous job. He has denied any wrongdoing.

Two complaints filed against him in 2015 and 2016 over alleged violation of worker rights were set aside because the prosecution found no reasonable ground suggesting Dikaučič committed the suspected act.

The minister is facing a vote of no confidence in parliament, requested by the centre-left opposition parties over the government's failure to appoint delegated European prosecutors.

LMŠ leader Marjan Šarec said this charge had not been included in the motion but nevertheless proved that the opposition's attempt to oust him was correct.