EN ECB-PUBLIC  
 
 
OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK 
of 26 November 2012 
on a tax on financial services and on a tax on  the total value of a bank’s balance sheet 
(CON/2012/93) 
 
Introduction and legal basis 
On 8 November 2012, the European Central Bank (ECB)  received a request from the Slovenian Ministry 
of Finance for an opinion on a draft law on a tax on  financial services and a draft law amending the Law 
on the total value of a bank’s balance sheet (herei nafter jointly referred to as the ‘draft laws’). 
The ECB’s competence to deliver an  opinion is based on Articles 127(4) and 282(5) of the Treaty on the 
Functioning of the European Union and, for the draft law on a tax on financial services, the third and sixth 
indents and, for the draft law amending the Law on th e total value of a bank’s balance sheet, the sixth 
indent of Article 2(1) of Council Decision 98/415 /EC of 29 June 1998 on the consultation of the 
European Central Bank by national authoriti es regarding draft legislative provisions1, as both draft laws 
contain rules applicable to financial institutions in sofar as they materially influence the stability of 
financial institutions and markets and the second one in addition relates to Banka Slovenije. In 
accordance with the first sentence of Article 17.5 of the Rules of Procedure of the European Central 
Bank, the Governing Council has adopted this opinion. 
 1.  Purpose of the draft laws 
The draft laws are part of the legislative package on the 2013 budget. 
1.1 Draft law on a tax on financial services 
The draft law introduces an obligation to pay a tax on certain financial services. The tax is to be 
paid by all entities performing the financial services concerned within the territory of Slovenia. The 
tax base is the fee received by the entities subject  to the tax in relation to the financial services 
provided. The tax rate is 6.5 % of the tax base.  The tax period is one calendar month. Certain 
services will be exempt from the tax, for exam ple services subject to VAT or the insurance 
operations tax, services provided by certain entities including Banka Slovenije, the ECB, the 
European Financial Stability Fac ility, European Union bodies, a nd services related to financial 
assistance. The Slovenian tax authority will be char ged with supervising compliance with the draft 
law. Revenues arising from the tax will go to the general budget. 
                                                 
1  OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 42. 
ECB-PUBLIC  
2 1.2 Draft law amending the Law on the total value of a bank’s balance sheet  
The law being amended introduced a tax to be pa id annually by banks authorised to provide 
banking services in Slovenia. The tax base is a given ba nk’s balance sheet total, and the tax rate is 
0.1 %. The tax can be reduced by 0.167 % of the amount of loans granted by the bank to non-financial institutions and sole traders. Revenues arising from the tax will go to the general budget. 
The ECB was consulted on the law now bei ng amended and adopted an opinion thereon
2. 
The draft law introduces the following changes: (a) it limits the period of application of the law 
being amended, whereby the tax will be calcula ted and paid for assessment periods up to and 
including the 31 December 2014; (b) the amount by which the tax can be reduced is lowered to 0.1 %; and (c) it introduces an obligation to pa y the tax in advance on the basis of the tax 
calculation for the preceding tax period, instead  of paying the tax annually in arrears. 
 2. Comments on the draft law on a tax on financial services 2.1 Definition of financial services subject to taxation 
Article 3 of the draft law contains an exhaustive lis t of financial services in respect of which the tax 
is to be paid under the draft law on a tax on fina ncial services. Certain categories of financial 
services would benefit from further clarification so th at the scope of the draft law is clearly defined. 
In particular, such clarification may be useful in  relation to transactions covered by item (d), which 
refers to ‘transactions, including brokerage, concerning currency, le gal tender banknotes and 
coins’. 
2.2 Exemption of services performed by Banka Slovenije from taxation under the draft law 
Under Article 8 of the draft law, financial servic es performed by Banka Slovenije shall be exempt 
from taxation when Banka Slovenije is acting within  its exclusive competences pursuant to the Law 
on Banka Slovenije or other laws and regulations of the Union la ying down exclusive competences 
of central banks or the competences of Banka Sloven ije in its capacity as an integral part of the 
European System of Central Banks. 
The ECB understands that this provision covers tr ansactions of Banka Slovenije within its own 
fund management operations. 
The ECB notes that the tax on financial services ma y resemble a financial transaction tax if the 
taxable fee is proportionate to the underlying transaction. In this regard, the ECB advises the Slovenian authorities to ensure that this tax woul d not interfere to a significant extent with the 
functioning of the monetary policy transmission mechanism through secondary trading in central 
bank instruments.  
 
                                                 
2  Opinion CON/2011/31. All ECB Opinions are avai lable on the ECB’s website  at www.ecb.europa.eu. 
ECB-PUBLIC  
3 2.3 Implications of the draft law for financial stability 
The ECB has taken into consideration the intentio n of the Slovenian Government to ensure that 
sufficient funds are available to the economy in ti mes of financial crisis. However, in the ECB's 
opinion, a comprehensive impact assessment of  the proposed measure is recommended to avoid 
any unintended impact on financia l stability given that the tax on financial services will increase 
the tax burden on banks and may result in an increase in the prices of financial services. 
 
3. Comments on the draft law amending the Law on the total value of a bank’s balance sheet 
The ECB notes that the draft law contains a provision lim iting the time in which the tax is to be paid to 
tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2014. The concerns expressed in the ECB’s Opinion 
CON/2011/31 are also valid in respect of the draft law. 
 This opinion will be published on the ECB’s website.   Done at Frankfurt am Main, 26 November 2012. 
 
[signed] 
 
The President of the ECB 
Mario DRAGHI