Agreed tax hikes insufficient to fix hole in the Estonian state budget
A deficit worth several hundred million euros will continue to propagate in the 2025 state budget, while the Reform-Eesti 200-SDE coalition is still searching for ways to address this in a united manner, particularly from a taxation perspective.
Prime Minister Kaja Kallas (Reform) says the coalition at present has not reached agreement on additional taxation, reiterating a preference in austerity over taxation, a Reform Party watchword.
In any case no solution has been reached yet, she said.
"I wouldn't want to talk about [potential new taxes] distinctly, not until we have a sure and final understanding and agreement that we have identified everything we could possibly cut out, so as not to further anger the taxpayer by retaining that, then asking for their [increased tax] contribution," Kallas told AK.
Eesti 200 is according to its leader Margus Tsahkna also not in favor of boosting income tax.
"I think that it does not give results and puts too much of a burden on the working person," Tsahkna told AK.
"What we are discussing should be very broad in scope, certainly taxation on the income side, perhaps also on the revenue side, and it should distributed across society as widely as possible, so that no one is in its firing range," he said.
Minister of the Interior Lauri Läänemets (SDE) said that the current budget strategy was "valid," adding that there is still €430 million earmarked towards a broad-based national defense tax
"This could be a 2 percent tax on income for every revenue generator, firms and ordinary people alike," he said.
Tax increases agreed so far within the coalition are, come what may, insufficient patch up the gaping hole in the 2025 state budget. The three coalition parties are in agreement on the need to still move towards a balanced budget; simply the vision of at what cost and in what areas this would be done, differs between the parties.
SDE opposes a further rise in the sale tax, which already went up from 20 percent to 22 percent at the start of this year, on the grounds that it disproportionately hits the poor, and creates more problems than it solves.
"It is always much more reasonable to tax wealth," Läänemets said.
Läänemets and Tsahkna agreed at least that the way to plug the budgetary hole was not piecemeal, via small tax changes worth €5 million to €10 million.
Tsahkna said: "Instead of starting to introduce these different taxes in the future, we could think about a broad-based security tax. In any case I do not see anyone here who really wants to introduce minor taxes,"
Läänemets said: "At least speaking for myself, I am already fed up with all kinds of little tax increases and amendments. This could be solved with one clear approach to tax."
However on this, the prime minister said: "It is one thing to come up with ideas; another to implement them. And this always rests with the Reform Party - both my and the finance minister's chests are riddled with bullets - and due to that fact, alas, we don't go all in for hurrah solutions like that."
The government plans introduce several new taxes and tax increases for the next few years, but still not enough to balance the state budget and with no clear united vision within the coalition, on taxation.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Merili Nael
Source: 'Aktuaalne kaamera,' reporter Merili Nael