Final Word from Monday, July 18, 2022

The public debate about a sector tax or other special corporate tax is partly a debate about the very nature of taxation. The Fiala government wrote in its policy statement that, "It is time for the citizen, as a taxpayer, to become a partner for the state. The task of the state administration is to support business and create favorable conditions for those who finance the country and create job opportunities." The new government had the lofty goal of changing the taxpayer experience, yet Finance Min. Zbyněk Stanjura now says that no topic is taboo, including a windfall-profits tax on a company's above-average earnings. He told Týdeník Echo that amounts above this average could be taxed at a "brutal" rate and that it wouldn't make sense to incur the political costs of such a decision if the proceeds were in the single digit billions of crowns. It's hard to see after such a statement how many businesses in profitable sectors will consider themselves to be a partner of the Fiala government. [ Czech Republic Petr ODS minister ]