The Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS) has no serious reservations about the deregulation plan unveiled by the strategic council for debureaucratization, and would like to see them implemented as soon as possible. The GZS has also endorsed some of the proposals from a new anti-coronavirus legislative package.
The conclusion was made on Monday as the GZS executive committee met Ivan Simič, the chair of the government advisory body, to discuss the proposals in the fields of taxes and business environment.
Simič said that the goal was to simplify procedures, while preserving control over and reliability of the relevant processes, which would save citizens and businesses a lot of time and costs. Budget revenue would meanwhile increase.
According to him, the main point of contention will be the plan under which some sole proprietors would pay higher contributions and taxes as the tax base would be raised.
Simič also presented to the GZS representatives the idea to introduce an annual cap on social security contributions for those with a monthly salary of over EUR 6,000, and a new 10% tax rate that has been proposed for income in excess of EUR 1 million.
GZS president Boštjan Gorjup noted that the chamber’s representatives had been involved in the strategic council, which had been established in May, drafting a series of concrete proposals for reducing administrative barriers.
The executive committee also discussed yesterday two initiatives which aim to support cooperation in the future development of Slovenia into an economically successful and knowledge- and added value-based society, the GZS said in a press release.
Gorjup said that the initiatives were focused on a post-coronavirus era and that they stimulated higher added value and greater exports.
GZS director general Sonja Šmuc added that the economy should develop at a faster pace, with an emphasis on sustainability and contribution to broader social values. Higher demand in export and domestic markets is key to the recovery, according to her.
Šmuc also touched on the newly-proposed anti-coronavirus legislative package, which is being discussed by social partners, saying that the GZS supported the extension of subsidised wages for furloughed workers until the end of December.
The chamber also proposes that subsidies for shorter working time be extended until June 2021, and that subsidies be introduced for coronavirus testing in the cases when a large number of employees in a company are suspected of contracting the virus.