Hauliers on strike in Bratislava

On Tuesday, Slovak hauliers went on strike in the capital city of Bratislava and in the affected region of Orava. The Slovak Haulier Union claims that the reason behind this extreme measure is the annual circulation tax, also known as the road tax, the consumption tax, the oil tax and the findings of the Supreme Audit Office regarding inefficient toll collection. They ask for the taxes be immediately lowered by 50% and that the collection of tolls should be halted until the problems with the system are resolved. According to the Finance Ministry, such a dropout would represent €35 mil and would have to be compensated by an increase in the tax for passenger cars. "The overall tax income in Slovakia is 2.3% of GDP, which is the EU average," the Ministry informed on Tuesday, adding that for now lowering the tax is out of the question.