Final Word from Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Mirek Topolánek's arrogance takes many forms, but for the purpose of tax reform, it's his unwillingness to admit what everyone else sees that could be his undoing. Instead of answering Vlastimil Tlustý's claims that the reform is a "fraud" meant to hide a tax increase, Topolánek attacks Tlustý for acting like a "spurned lover" and, according to what Tlustý told LN, allows Marek Dalík to start a smear campaign against Tlustý. Instead of listening to valid questions about the cost/benefit calculations of tax reform, Topolánek tells Právo that analyst Aleš Michl of Raiffeisen can't count. At the same time, Topolánek more or less admits to MFD that ODS has cooked the books by comparing the benefits of tax reform to pre-election numbers, not to the current state of affairs. The public senses what is going on: Only 17% of respondents in a STEM poll expect to benefit from tax reform. Sounds about right.[Czech Republic MF Dnes taxation VAT]