"I believe that the government, which is in the making, will be a smart government and look for the most optimal solution within the guidelines of the coalition agreement. Solutions which would not place an unnecessary extra burden on the economy and cut our economic growth", Vojmir Urlep emphasized. Foto: BoBo

"It would be right for the government to be inaugurated first before the PM and his relevant ministers can meet all the business representatives and respond to their questions and doubts," said Vojmir Urlep, a former businessman and now chief advisor to the new PM Marjan Šarec.

Mr. Urlep, a former CEO at Lek, understands the concern of the business sector, but at the same time asks for patience, as no one can expect any government measures when the government has not even started working. He was also critical to some of the comments made by members of the Left, which maintains that the proposed taxation of income and profits would lead to the fairer reallocation of taxes – something that would benefit all citizens.

"The comments of some of the MPs, which we have witnessed in the past days, will do nothing good in our search for dialogue and agreements between politics and the economy. We assess them as unacceptable and harmful to our society," Urlep was critical.
Urlep states that the coalition agreement is a guideline for how the government will work and includes certain views and directions, according to which the government must plan and implement measures in a way to achieve its goals and gains, which it is obliged to do. "That means that it must encourage a business environment in order to create that added value which would fuel the needs of our society," Urlep explained.
An unnecessary burden on the economy?
In the coalition agreement there is a sentence which speaks of changing the taxation of capital gains, a sentence which has angered many business executives. However, Urlep stresses that also written in the coalition agreement is that the government would strive to create a predictable, reliable and stimulating business environment.
"I believe that the government, which is in the making, will be a smart government and look for the most optimal solution within the guidelines of the coalition agreement. Solutions which would not place an unnecessary extra burden on the economy and cut our economic growth, and on the other hand search for solutions on how to satisfy the needs of certain parts of the public sector," Urlep emphasized.
The contentious sentence, according to Urlep, has to be perceived in the context of all the measures: "If the implementation of such a guideline was to cause great damage to the economy and hurt the continuation of a high economic growth, there is no such government that would adopt such measures as that would mean significantly less funds for the implementation of all the other government needs and commitments."
Trček: Higher tax rates on capital gains is an OECD guideline
The following writing in the coalition agreement: "Individual capital gains and income will be included in the basis for the assessment of income tax", is explained by Franc Trček: "Of course, it’s very simple, or as people would say, it’s like putting money into your own wallet, which would only be slightly more taxed. For the common good."
Trček says that the higher tax rates on capital gains are also one of the guidelines of the OECD. "I was at lunch with Mr. Gurria (note: Angel Gurria, the Secretary-General of the OECD) at the Villa Podrožnik, when Mrs. Ljudmila (note: Ljudmila Novak from the NSi Party) started talking about how our businesses are excessively taxed. He listened and at the end he only said: Not really," said Trček.