By: Vida Kocjan
Price growth is high, inflation is almost twice as high as in the same period last year. The reasons for such a rise in prices, which is also higher than in neighbouring countries, are not understandable. The fact is that higher prices also bring higher tax revenues to the state budget. That is why there are already calls for the government to lower taxes. The Fiscal Council states that the strengthening of public financial revenues due to higher prices should be used primarily to reduce the public debt burden.
As expected, the government coalition (Gibanje Svoboda, SD, and Levica parties) does not agree with any of this. Opposite. They raise taxes and prepare new ones. At the same time, they continue to increase public spending and the budget deficit. They are not even thinking about reducing the public debt burden. Opposite. In 2022, they increased the state’s indebtedness, and in 2023 they plan to take on new debts. They plan to spend more than 650 million euros on interest this year. You can read more about this on the following pages of Demokracija magazine.
It is also worrying that this year’s deficit in Slovenia will be among the highest in the EU. With inflation higher than the average in countries with the euro, this indicates that the Golob’s intend to spend a lot. They understand reforms only as spending. This is also confirmed by the statements of Luka Mesec, Deputy Prime Minister, and coordinator of the Levica party. He said that the government is planning a wage reform in the public sector that will cost 800 million euros. Mesec certainly has no idea what reform means, otherwise he would not be spreading such nonsense. This is not reform, but an additional waste of taxpayers’ money.
Golob does not talk about public finances, the Minister of Finance has not been seen for some time, Fajon is doing some semi-private exotic tourism, and Bratušek, who years ago raised the rates of value added tax and nominally put the country in the most debt, has sunk in “her infrastructure projects”.
How, then, can we citizens expect to enter the next six months or year less burdened?