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)
Date: 2012-11-26
Institutions: European Central Bank
Subjects: Slovenia, balance sheet, bank, financial services, financial stability, national law, tax

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 (hereinafter 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 the 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 authorities regarding draft legislative provisions1, as both draft laws 

contain  rules  applicable  to  financial  institutions  insofar  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  example  services  subject  to  VAT  or  the  insurance 

operations  tax,  services  provided  by  certain  entities  including  Banka  Slovenije,  the  ECB,  the 

European  Financial  Stability  Facility,  European  Union  bodies,  and  services  related  to  financial 

assistance. The Slovenian tax authority will be charged 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. 

 
 
 
 
                                                 
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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  paid  annually  by  banks  authorised  to  provide 

banking services in Slovenia. The tax base is a given bank’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 being amended and adopted an opinion thereon2. 

The  draft  law  introduces  the  following  changes:  (a)  it  limits  the  period  of  application  of  the  law 

being  amended,  whereby  the  tax  will  be  calculated  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  pay  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 list of financial services in respect of which the tax 

is  to  be  paid  under  the  draft  law  on  a  tax  on  financial  services.  Certain  categories  of  financial 

services would benefit from further clarification so that 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,  legal  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 services 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 laying down exclusive competences 

of  central  banks  or  the  competences  of  Banka  Slovenije  in  its  capacity  as  an  integral  part  of  the 

European System of Central Banks. 

The  ECB  understands  that  this  provision  covers  transactions  of  Banka  Slovenije  within  its  own 

fund management operations. 

The  ECB  notes  that  the  tax  on  financial  services  may  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  would  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 available on the ECB’s website at www.ecb.europa.eu. 

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2.3 

Implications of the draft law for financial stability 

The  ECB  has  taken  into  consideration  the  intention  of  the  Slovenian  Government  to  ensure  that 

sufficient  funds  are  available  to  the  economy  in  times  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 financial 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 limiting 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 

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