Final Word from Tuesday, January 25, 2005
A proposal yesterday from the Confederation of Industry and Transport calls for a two-tier flat tax, with rates of 9% and 19% for personal income tax, corporate tax and VAT. Taxpayers would save Kč 60bn. President Jaroslav Míl of the Confederation said he fears that politicians will go on and on about cutting taxes, discredit the idea in the eyes of voters, and end up doing nothing. He said his proposal is logical and isn't political. Yet by going public instead of working quietly behind the scenes, he'll inevitably attract the ire of politicians. The political parties have already rejected the idea, Czech Radio reported. Míl has an ax to grind with ČSSD because of the way he was ousted as CEO of ČEZ. By introducing his own flat-tax variation, he's highlighting the fact that ODS's 15% flat-tax idea is much more coherent than ČSSD's tax plan ... if indeed ČSSD has one. [Czech Republic taxation Transportation cabinet coalition]