The draft state budget for next year was covered by this afternoon’s meeting between President Miloš Zeman and Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) at the chateau in Lány. Babiš and President’s spokesman Jiří Ovčáček told ČTK. After Babiš, the president also met with the Minister of Finance Alena Schillerová (for YES). Zeman receives Babiš every month, they meet for dinner. However, today’s meeting was not one of these regular meetings.
–
Babiš wrote to ČTK that the roughly one-hour meeting concerned the budget. “Every autumn, the President pays increased attention to the discussion of the draft state budget for next year. Today’s working meetings in Lány correspond to this. On Wednesday, the President plans to visit the budget in the Chamber of Deputies, “added Ovčáček.
–
After talks with Babiš, Zeman also met with Minister of Finance Schiller in Lány. According to her proposal, the government proposed a budget for the Chamber of Deputies with a deficit of 320 billion crowns. On Wednesday, the House Budget Committee recommended to the Chamber of Deputies to approve the basic parameters of the state budget for next year. The state is to collect 1,488 billion crowns in revenues and spend 1808 billion.
–
The committee recommended accepting Babiš’s proposal to abolish the super-gross wage. Instead, the gross wages of employees should be taxed at a rate of 15 percent and for income of over 140,000 crowns per month at a rate of 23 percent. The draft budget does not take into account the impact of the changes and, according to the draft, the revenue shortfall should amount to about 52 billion crowns.
–
The committee issued a negative opinion on the proposal of the Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the CSSD coalition Jan Hamáček, who submits rates of 19 and 23 percent. The Ministry of Finance also rejected his proposal. According to the coalition agreement, government parties are to submit laws on tax changes and laws with a large impact on public budgets only together.
–
Babiš was last in Lány on October 23 due to the dismissal of former Minister of Health Roman Prymula. At the meeting at the time, he suggested to the president that the new healthcare system be managed by Jan Blatný (both for YES). Last Thursday, he also attended the appointment of a new head of the ministry.
—
