Võrklaev wrote in a letter to the Ministry of Social Affairs, where the tax idea originated, that the finance ministry will sign off on the bill if certain conditions are met. Firstly, the provisions need to be carefully considered and more clearly phrased, the ministry found.

"Additionally, it is important to point out that creating an electronic declaration system will take a lot more time than the recent framework of enforcing the law from January 1, 2025 affords," Võrklaev noted.

The minister said that work on the system can only begin once it is clear how the law will work, and that businesses will also need to change their IT and stock accounting systems.

"We find that the law's earliest entry into force date is January 1, 2026. Because the bill requires thorough analysis, debate and resulting changes, we propose taking more time to delve deep and find solutions in cooperation."

While the state budget counts on revenue of €25 million from the tax next year, that of the finance ministry does not include funds for its implementation, even though relevant expenses will already be created in 2024.

The explanatory memo of the draft law also provides a brief analysis of whether proposed exemptions could be construed as state aid. Võrklaev found this analysis to be insufficient to rule out the possibility of the law amounting to state aid once passed, which would require a state aid permit from the European Commission.

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