Opposition Civic Democrats to support government income tax bill

The opposition right-of-centre Civic Democrats will support the government's proposal to lower the income tax. In a TV discussion programme on Sunday, Civic Democrat Vlastimil Tlusty said party deputies will vote in favour of the bill at Tuesday's lower house session. The Civic Democrats have been blocking the proposal as it only affects those with a monthly wage of up to 30,000 Czech crowns (around 1,200 US dollars); an estimated four million people. They have instead been pushing for a flat tax rate of 15 percent to include those with higher incomes. Mr Tlusty says his party has not had a change of heart but simply realises that lowered taxes for some is better than for none.