Bank levy

University of Zilina, Faculty of Operation and Economics of Transport and Communications, Department of Economics, Univerzitna 1, 010 26 Zilina, Slovakia

^* Corresponding author: katarina.michalikova@fpedas.uniza.sk

Abstract

Research background: The bank levy was approved in 2011 and entered into force in 2012. Shortly after the economic crisis, Slovakia was not the only country to introduce it. Unlike other countries, the Slovak government did not have to help banks financially and then compensate for this help by increasing their taxation. The bank levy thus served mainly to improve the overall image of public finances in the country.

Purpose of the article: The main goal of the article is to confirm the correctness of the abolition of the bank levy, which has distorted the management of banks in Slovakia for almost a whole decade. The abolition of the levy will contribute to greater stability of the banking sector, which will be helpful in the restart of the Slovak economy affected by the crisis caused by the covid-19 pandemic.

Methods: Analysis of the legislation regulating the introduction of a bank levy in Slovakia, its development from the introduction of a bank levy to its abolition. Comparison of the expected benefits of this tool with reality.

Findings & Value added: The article monitors the development of bank levies in Slovakia from its introduction to its abolition. The imposition of a bank levy resulted in additional taxation of the banking sector. The difference compared to other taxes was that the amount of the levy does not depend on the bank’s profit, but on the size of its liabilities.