The new tax will be levied on all taxable persons providing financial services, including banks, other financial institutions, persons providing financial services, including branches of foreign banks and establishments of foreign legal entities in Slovenia, including those which provide financial services directly, the government said in a statement on Thursday.
The endorsed levy is a transaction tax levied on services. A tax obligation arises when a financial service is provided, which is when commission on the service is paid, the statement said.
The tax basis for the tax is the fee - or commission - that a taxable person receives as payment for providing financial services. In practice, these commissions are generally defined as indemnities, compensations, commissions or costs. A calendar month will constitute a tax period. The planned tax rate is 6.5% of the tax basis.
The bill provides for tax exemption for some financial services, i.e. those already subject to VAT and the tax on insurance services, or services provided by some entities, including the Bank of Slovenia, the European Central Bank, the European Union, the European Financial Stability Facility, an international financial institution founded by two or several EU member states, the European Atomic Energy Community, the European Investment Bank, international organisations and diplomatic and consular representations of foreign countries.
The Slovenian government also said it has approved the draft of a bill amending the Tax Act on Bank Balance Sheet Assets (TABBSA), which tightens the existing measure for tackling the effects of the financial and economic crisis which was introduced by TABBSA for limited duration.
Based on the review of the present situation it ensues that only a smaller share of banks or only those with smaller balance sheet total have increased their share of loans to non-financial companies and sole proprietors. The sum of loans given by all banks has not increased, but decreased. Thus the non-banking sector is still financed in a lower rare than it was before the crisis, the statement said.
The bill limits levying and paying taxes on balance sheet assets through 2014.
The tax on bank balance sheet assets will decrease due to an allowance or lowering of the tax, where the taxable entity can reduce their tax obligations to zero. The bill lowers the share of outstanding loans for which the entity can claim lower taxes from 0.167% to 0.1%.
The bill also introduces advance payments of the tax and stipulates a special scheme for paying instalments in 2013.
