The government is sending to parliament for a second reading a set of tax changes that should take effect on 1 January and raise wages, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said at a cabinet session on Thursday, calling on towns and municipalities to utilise the new regulations.

The changes will abolish income tax surtax and increase income tax rates as well as the non-taxable income, among other things.

The government is continuing with reforms aimed at raising wages, notably for those with the lowest incomes, preserving the economy in crisis conditions, and strengthening the tax autonomy of municipalities and towns in order to raise the standard of living, Plenkovic said.

The second parliamentary reading of the changes to nine tax laws will be very swift, he added.

The new tax reform also envisages taxing income from capital, assets and property rights by raising the rates, but the total effect will be just under €6 million.

Speaking of the tourism season, Plenkovic said arrivals stood at 16.2 million and nights at 88.5 million, and that revenues from tourism and related activities would be record high.

Commenting on the increase in the number of pension insurees in August from July by almost 40,000, he said, “Those are encouraging figures. The number of the jobless is about 100,000, which additionally confirms our argument that we have 16 employees to one jobless and points to positive trends on the labour market.”

Next week the government will adopt a new aid package for households and businesses targeting those most at risk in order to maintain the economic and social standards, Plenkovic said.

Without the government’s measures, gas and electricity prices would be several times higher, he said, adding that last year the market price of electricity for households and SMEs was six to seven times higher than the one they actually paid and the price of gas three to four times higher.

This year, without the measures, the price of electricity would be three times higher and the prices of gas and heating energy almost two times higher, he said.