Public violence between the government and entrepreneurs is no longer spent on the issue of corporate taxation, and it seems that the more difficult discussions have been moved behind closed doors a week before the decision. EY tax expert Ranno Tingas is afraid that there are no good solutions.
“You have to understand that no one can put these ideas on the table indefinitely, and if there is no clear open discussion, then you have to make and discuss proposals in a different way. This is today’s reality,” explained Ranno Tingas in the “Äripää opinion leader” program.
The Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which, through its leader Mait Palts, has presented several proposals to Finance Minister Jürgen Lig, no longer publicly comments on the state of affairs, and other entrepreneurs and their representative organizations refrain from speaking excessively. Tingas hopes that this will at least have a positive outcome.
“I hope that this discussion will continue and that the best solution will still be sought, which would ensure the achievement of the state’s goals and harm the business environment as little as possible.”
“On the part of the state, in the big picture, it doesn’t matter where the money comes from, although hopefully they will also think about preserving the business environment.”
In the interview, Tingas analyzes the effects of all three taxation options – traditional profit tax, payroll tax and the so-called balance sheet state levy – although for now it seems that the government is working with the scenario that the Ministry of Finance has been able to assess the most deeply: the profit tax.
But here too there are more questions than answers: “The concept of profit is diverse. We have to wait until the Ministry of Finance has the bill out to understand what they define as profit,” replied Tingas, who said that this kind of tax means, in any case, that two parallel principles of taxation will be introduced in Estonia.
“This complexity already probably significantly reduces our attractiveness.”
Interviewed by Indrek Lepik.
Ranno Tingas: In the big picture, the country does not care where the money comes from
Also listen to “Äripää opinion leader” in full:
Äripää opinion leader: profit tax does not make the Estonian business environment more attractive
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Source: www.aripaev.ee
