Daily: finance minister to propose flat income tax rate

According to the Czech daily Mlada Fronta Dnes, Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek is going to present a proposal to the government introducing a flat income tax rate of 15 percent as part of planned reforms. He is expected to put forward the proposal in two weeks time. The rate is lower than was previously expected. Currently the amount of income tax one pays in the Czech Republic depends on one's overall yearly earnings and those are rated along a four-point scale. Mlada Fronta Dnes points out that the new rate, if approved, will most benefit those earning incomes upwards of 35,000 crowns per month. At the same time, the finance ministry has said that under the proposal it will raise tax allowances. If the government backs the plan and it finds backing in the Lower House of Parliament, the changes could come into effect in 2008.