Health insurance from dividends in Slovakia
7.02.2011Company: Amcham
A new tax problem has arisen for shareholders since the New Year. The amendment to Act No. 580/2004 Z.z., on health insurance, which came into effect on 1 January 2011, imposes a duty on a legal entity paying dividends to a person who is an insurant of the Slovak Republic to pay the health insurance of 10% on their behalf.
Many Slovak residents have now started speculating as to whether this unpleasant duty can be avoided. Although in our business we follow the motto that nothing is impossible, it must be pointed out right at the beginning that this is an extremely complicated matter. According to the Slovak regulation, the duty to pay the insurance premium from a dividend is subject to the recipient's participation in the Slovak health insurance system. In other words, in order for a shareholder to be released from the duty to pay the insurance premium, they would have to stop being a Slovak health insurant. This will probably cause complications in the event they need to use the health care system in Slovakia. In addition, in the European Union, leaving one health insurance system means a person is almost automatically required to register with a system of another state. In each individual case it is necessary to consider whether these complications will be balanced through any savings on the Slovak payments. We cannot but hope that this rather surprising, yet altogether logical construction, does not inspire Czech ministries in their preparation of the new tax legislation. If you need more detailed information, please do not hesitate to contact us. www.tacoma.eu
