High-tax conservatives

ODS paints itself as the low-tax party, but ČSSD is trying - with limited success so far - to dispute this. Finance Minister Bohuslav Sobotka rattled MP Vlastimil Tlustý by claiming on Czech TV that ODS's proposals would actually mean higher taxes. Premier Stanislav Gross told Právo that ODS's flat tax would raise taxes for low wage-earners and help the rich. Education Minister Petra Buzková said on the BBC that the flat tax in Slovakia led to social upheaval. None of these comments made the headlines. The media have delighted in pointing out the inconsistencies in ČSSD's tax plans but have been slow to look at the holes in ODS's. ODS is being remarkably vague and isn't being challenged when it refuses to give specific tax figures until after the elections. With few exceptions, the media are already taking sides with ODS as the 2006 elections approach. [Czech Republic parliamentary general Czech Television income]