The Slovak parliament has approved the amendments to the Income Tax Act, VAT Act, legislation on excise duties and the tax code as proposed by the Finance Ministry. All the amendments have been signed by the president except the VAT Act. The changes will be in effect from 1st January 2016. The main amendments are given below:

Corporate Income Tax

  • Council Directive 2015/121 will be implemented amending Parent-Subsidiary Directive (2011).
  • The groups of taxpayers that do not need to pay the minimum tax will be extended.

Personal Income Tax

  • Capital income will not be combined with other types of income for the purposes of calculating tax due and the income will be taxed separately at a 19% rate.
  • Gains from the sale of securities traded on a regular stock market will be tax exempt, if the period from the acquisition of the securities until their sale exceeds one year and the securities are not a part of the business assets of the taxpayer.
  • Gains from the sale of securities and derivative income arising from long-term investment savings schemes will be tax exempt.

VAT

  • A 10% reduced rate will be effective from 1st January 2016 on certain foodstuffs, including fish, meat, butter, milk and bread.
  • For a taxable person from a third state an option will be announced for requesting a VAT refund on a half-yearly basis (for the first half of the calendar year, the minimum amount of VAT refund is EUR 1,000 and EUR 50 for the second half).
  • Any additional reduction in the taxable amount during the application for a VAT refund will be notified to the tax authority.

Excise Duties

  • Excise duty on cigars and cigarillos will be charged on the basis of their weight rather than their number and the duty rate will be EUR 71.11 per kg.

Tax Code

  • Taxpayers will be permitted to file an amended tax return to adjust the taxable base after the commencement of a tax audit (within 15 days) for the tax period to which the adjusted tax return relates.
  • Penalty rates are introduced for supplementary tax assessments. If an amended tax return is filed by the taxpayer, penalty rates will be lower (3% per year before the commencement of the tax audit or 7% per year within 15 days from the commencement of the tax audit) than if additional 10% tax rates are assessed by the tax authority.