The AmCham Finance Committee is committed to a predictable and competitive business environment in which companies have the opportunity to develop and grow and in which the tax and financial environment encourages rather than hinders them.
Key areas of the Committee’s work
Social-development cap
We propose the introduction of a social development cap on pension and health insurance contributions. This is an urgent investment by Slovenia if we want to be a country where our companies can develop cutting-edge products and services, where young people can stay and create in their home country, and where international companies can create development centers and high value-added jobs.
We propose a social development cap at 2.5 times the average gross salary, i.e., at €4,600 gross. We believe that this would cover all the key professions that drive development – engineers, scientists, developers, professors, teachers, etc. This includes professions such as managers and doctors, who have invested a lot in their development and are particularly internationally mobile.
The expansion of tax brackets
Slovenia wants new jobs, especially high value-added jobs. Therefore, it is necessary to lower taxes on wages so that the employee receives more than half of the amount contributed by the employer.
The table below shows the taxation of salaries between €2,500 and €5,500 gross, which are usually the salaries of highly educated employees (e.g., engineers, developers), i.e., the kind of people we believe Slovenia would like to employ in the future in as large a number as possible.
| Gross salary (in EUR) | Total cost to the employer (in EUR) | Net salary (in EUR) | Net pay as a share of total employer costs |
| 2,500.00 | 2,902.50 | 1,569.51 | 40.75% |
| 3,500.00 | 4,063.50 | 2,033.01 | 50.03% |
| 4,500.00 | 5,224.50 | 2,492.62 | 47.71% |
| 5,500.00 | 6,385.50 | 2,952.23 | 46.23% |
Measures that increase the stimulative effect of our fiscal environment on investments
We propose retaining the research and development investment allowance, maintaining the investment allowance at 40%, and reducing the taxation of dividends, which would have a positive effect on the attractiveness of capital investment.
Tax reliefs for the development of a second pension pillar
Tax reliefs for the development of a second pension pillar will increase the attractiveness of saving and the amount of second pension pillar savings that are reinvested back into the economy and make an important contribution to the development of the capital market, while at the same time providing the saver with a decent pension to cover part of the rising costs of health care and long-term care.
The challenges of the demographic fund according to the current legislative proposal
The main challenges of the Demographic Fund are the insufficient volume of assets and the inadequate structure of investments. Given the lack of resources, the envisioned fund will not be able to generate sufficient returns to make a significant contribution to reducing the future deficit in the pension fund, bearing in mind that the state-owned asset management companies that are currently managing the assets to be transformed into the demographic fund (KAD, SDH, etc.) are already contributing to the budget.
At the same time, the debate on the future development of the pension system in Slovenia should be continued, and there is still much room for development of a second pension pillar, which can generate additional savings and partially compensate employees for the decline in public pensions while at the same time maintaining the stability of public finances. There should be more attention paid to this area in future reform, as many countries have already successfully compensated for the decline in public pensions with a second pension pillar.
Long-term care should not be just another burden on employers
The draft Long-Term Care Act (the “Act”) provides for a new mandatory contribution of 2.94% of gross salary. While the Act provides for a small reduction in the contribution to compulsory health insurance and the contribution to pension and invalidity insurance, the new contribution will further increase the burden on labor in Slovenia, which rises disproportionately above the average wage and is among the highest in the European Union. The additional burden on labor is therefore unacceptable. Reserves must first be found by rationalizing the health and long-term care systems. It should be remembered that, as labor burdens increase, the informal economy and the search for other ways around them grows, and the final outcome may be even worse than before the new burdens.
Digital payments
Slovenia has a relatively large informal economy. Cash is still the predominant means of payment, while the infrastructure for accepting electronic payments is rather underdeveloped. The payment infrastructure should be improved to meet the needs of digitalization, as small, medium and large enterprises will become more digital. People should be given a choice of payment methods, including digital, as local and foreign consumers expect to have a choice of payment methods and the possibility to pay electronically. A comprehensive payment infrastructure development program needs to be launched to boost card acceptance in Slovenia and to bring new technologies and affordable and smart solutions to the market.
There are two key ways in which the government can be involved in improving the e-payment infrastructure in Slovenia: (1) by encouraging cashless payments and (2) by making it mandatory to accept cashless payments.
In the event of exceptional circumstances like a pandemic, we want the state to help companies as quickly and with as little bureaucracy as possible, to continue operating and retain as many jobs as possible, while keeping the solvency needed to emerge from the crisis.
Committee members
Who are the Committee members?
See the whole list of committee members.
Join the AmCham Finance Committee
For all questions related to the Committee’s work you can turn to our Committee coordinator Vida Dolenc Pogačnik, our COO and International Cooperation Leader.
Vida Dolenc Pogačnik
COO and International Cooperation Leader