Ljubljana, 17 December (STA) - Prime Minister Robert Golob has announced that a blueprint for a second package of tax changes, which will include a real estate tax, will be examined by the government next week. He hopes the laws will be passed next year.
"Next year we will write the laws and if there is broad enough political consensus within the coalition, we will put the reform into law," he told TV Slovenija in an interview on Monday evening. "Perhaps it will take effect later, but it will become law next year, this is the current plan."
He said the basic premise was simple: the first piece of real estate someone owns will not be taxed, but any subsequent properties will.
For those who decide to lease a second property, the tax bill will be deducted from the rental tax, which would mean that their total tax bill would not increase.
The aim is to put as many currently vacant properties on the market as possible, which Golob said was a precondition for lowering rent. "We all know that apartments are too expensive to buy and rent at present," he said.
Golob indicated that the new tax will be revenue neutral for the state as taxes on labour will decrease proportionately to the real estate tax take.
"Everything the tax on second properties brings to the state will go towards higher wages for those who work. As a result, prices on the market will have to fall and young families ... will be able to finally afford their own home. This is the aim of the tax reform."
Various forms of real estate tax had been considered by successive governments in the past 15 years but repeatedly failed to be implemented, though most of the proposals involved a much broader tax base than what Golob mentioned.
