Opposition getting ready for delay tactics against government tax package
Deputy chairman of the Reform Party’s parliamentary group Hanno Pevkur told ERR on Wednesday that they were planning to use all the means at their disposal to delay the vote on the government’s tax package.
Chairman of the group, Kristen Michal, had said earlier that what bothered the party was that the social tax cut planned by the previous government had been dropped, and that different interest groups had been given too little time to familiarize with the bill and submit proposals to change it.
Deputy chairman of the group of the Estonian Conservative People’s Party (EKRE), Henn Põlluaas, said that they were going along with Reform’s delay tactics, as their proposals to change the bill hadn’t been included either.
The Reform Party had calculated that if after every proposal to change the bill they demanded a ten-minute break, the sitting would last 36 hours, Põlluaas said.
The Free Party wouldn’t start demanding breaks, MP Andres Herkel said. In his opinion, marathon sittings didn’t solve any problems. “This is much rather becoming an imitation of the Center Party’s all-night sittings,” he added, pointing to the fact that the new governing party had used similar delay tactics against the previous Reform Party governments for years.
Chairwoman of the Center Party’s parliamentary group, Kersti Sarapuu, said that the upcoming delays would be based on 120 change proposals the Reform Party had submitted in committee. Those were based on the demand to change certain sums euro by euro.
“I think the parliamentary parties all have the right to speak their mind, and every one of them chooses its own method. And if they choose this kind of delay tactic, then we have to hold out anyway,” Sarapuu said.
The sitting discussing the new government’s proposed tax bill began at 2 p.m. on Wednesday.
Editor: Editor: Dario Cavegn