Ljubljana, 17 April (STA) - The government adopted on Thursday a bill that introduces special investment accounts for individuals that will be cheaper and taxed at a lower rate than existing brokerage accounts, an effort to entice retail investors to enter the capital market.
The account is defined as a special type of restricted trading account that individuals can use to invest in shares, bonds, T-bills, mutual funds and exchange traded funds.
Each Slovenian tax residents would be allowed to hold one such account and total deposits will be limited to EUR 150,000, with the cap at EUR 20,000 the first year and EUR 5,000 in each of the subsequent years.
The tax rate would be 15%, compared to the current capital gains rate of 25%, and would be waived altogether after 15 years, but just for the first payout.
The bill is designed to encourage long-term savings by individuals in financial instruments, strengthen the capital market, and diversify financing sources for business, said Finance Minister Klemen Boštjančič.
He sees simplicity, low taxes, flexibility and a focus on the safety of assets as the main benefits of such accounts.
The bill will now be put to parliament and Klemenčič expects it will pass by the summer.
The plan is to roll out the accounts nine months after the bill becomes law, in order to give asset managers and oversight authorities enough time to prepare.
