Opinion of the European Central Bank of 8 November 2024 on a financial transaction tax (CON/2024/36)
Date: 2024-11-08
Institutions: European Central Bank
Subjects: financial stability, legal basis, monetary policy, money, payment system

ECB-PUBLIC 

EN 

OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK 

of 8 November 2024  

on a financial transaction tax 

(CON/2024/36) 

Introduction and legal basis 

On 25 September 2024 the European Central Bank (ECB) received a request from the Ministry of Finance 

of the Slovak Republic for an opinion on a draft law on a financial transaction tax and amending certain 

acts. The draft law was adopted by the National Council of the Slovak Republic on 3 October1 (hereinafter 

the ‘Law’).  

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  Article 2(1),  third,  fifth  and  sixth  indents,  of  Council  Decision 

98/415/EC2, as the Law relates to Národná banka Slovenska (NBS), payment and settlement systems, and 

rules  applicable  to  financial  institutions  insofar  as  they  materially  influence  the  stability  of  financial 

institutions and markets. In accordance with Article 17.5, first sentence, of the Rules of Procedure of the 

European Central Bank, the Governing Council has adopted this opinion. 

1. 

Purpose of the Law 

1.1  The  aim  of  the  Law  is  to  burden  debit  transactions  recorded  on  the  accounts  of  legal  entities, 

organisational units and natural persons-entrepreneurs by introducing a tax on financial transactions 

(hereinafter the ‘tax’) and to define the range of entities and transactions that are exempt from the 

tax.  The  Law  also  aims  to  boost  electronic  payments  to  prevent  tax  evasion  and  fraud,  and  to 

enhance tax collection and the controls for ensuring compliance with tax obligations. 

1.2  The Law applies to taxpayers that are: (1) natural persons-entrepreneurs, (2) legal persons, or (3) 

branches  of  foreign legal persons, provided they  are  clients of a payment service provider  (PSP) 

performing financial transactions3. The tax does not apply to the Social Insurance Agency, entities 

connected to the State budget, or municipalities and regions4.  

1.3  The tax is payable by a PSP, a branch of a PSP based in Slovakia, or the taxpayers themselves if 

they: (1) are a client of a PSP based outside Slovakia that does not have an branch in Slovakia; (2) 

are a client to whom the costs related to the execution of a financial transaction, which refers to their 

1    
2  

3  

4  

Zákon č. 279/2024 Z. z. z 3. októbra 2024 o dani z finančných transakcií a o zmene a doplnení niektorých zákonov.  

Council Decision 98/415/EC of 29 June 1998 on the consultation of the European Central Bank by national authorities 
regarding draft legislative provisions (OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 42). 

  Article I, Section 3(1), of the Law. 

  Article I, Section 3(2), of the Law. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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activity performed in Slovakia, are charged; or (3) have performed financial transactions on a non-

transaction account5.  

1.4  The  following  are  subject  to  the  tax:  (1)  any  financial  transaction  in  which  an  amount  of  funds  is 

debited  from  the  taxpayer’s  account;  (2)  the  use  of  a  payment  card  issued  with  the  transaction 

account for carrying out financial transactions; and (3) any booked expenses related to the execution 

of a financial transaction that refers to the taxpayer’s activity performed in Slovakia6.  

1.5  The Law also lists a number of financial transactions that are not subject to the tax, including, inter 

alia:  (1)  payment  transactions  carried  out  in  connection  with  the  payment  of  taxes,  levies  and 

contributions from the State budget and health insurance contributions; (2) payment transactions in 

connection  with  the  write-off  and  recovery  of  funds  resulting  from  unauthorised  or  incorrectly 

executed payments pursuant to Law No 492/2009 Coll. on payment services and on amendments to 

certain  laws,  as  amended7  (hereinafter  the  ‘Law  on  payment  services’);  (3)  payment  transactions 

relating to the management of securities or other financial instruments; (4) payment transactions in 

relation to the purchase of government bonds; (5) payment transactions by securities traders related 

to  the  purchase  of  securities  on  behalf  of  their  clients;  (6)  payment  transactions  carried  out  from 

separate  non-assigned  payment  accounts  maintained  by  financial  institutions;  (7)  payment 

transactions  executed  by  banks  or  licensed  traders  engaged  in  foreign  exchange  activities;  (8) 

payment transactions carried out by the State Treasury; (9) compensation payments for unavailable 

deposits under deposit protection legislation; (10) payment transactions executed within a payment 

or  clearing  and  settlement  system  between  settlement  agents,  central  counterparties,  clearing 

houses or central banks and other participants in the payment or clearing and settlement system in 

financial  instruments  and  PSPs;  and  (11)  payment  transactions  carried  out  using  payment  cards, 

excluding cash withdrawals8.  

1.6  The tax basis is the amount of funds debited from the taxpayer’s account in a financial transaction9. 

For  this  purpose,  a  transaction  account  is  defined  broadly  to  include  the  payment  account  of  a 

taxpayer that is a legal person or a branch of a foreign person or a payment account of a taxpayer 

who is a natural person-entrepreneur in which that taxpayer carries out financial transactions related 

to  their  business10.  With  reference  to  booked  expenses  related  to  the  execution  of  a  financial 

transaction, which refers to the taxpayer’s activity performed in Slovakia, the tax basis is the amount 

of booked expenses related to the execution of a financial transaction11. If the transaction is carried 

out in foreign currency, the transaction amount is converted to euro at the reference exchange rate 

determined by the ECB or NBS for the purpose of determining the tax basis12. 

5  

6  

7    

8  

9  

10  

11  

12  

Article I, Section 3(3), of the Law. 

Article I, Section 4(1), of the Law. 

Zákon č. 492/2009 Z. z. zo 4. novembra 2009 o platobných službách a o zmene a doplnení niektorých zákonov v znení 
neskorších predpisov.  

Article I, Section 4(2), of the Law. 

Article I, Section 5(1), of the Law. 

Article I, Section 2(1)(c), of the Law. 

Article I, Section 5(2), of the Law. 

Article I, Section 5(3), of the Law. 

2 

 
 
 
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1.7  A tax rate of 0.4 % applies for financial transactions, excluding cash withdrawals, in which an amount 

of funds is debited from the taxpayer’s account, with the tax amount capped at EUR 40. For cash 

withdrawals, a tax rate of 0.8 % applies. A tax of EUR 2 per year applies for the use of a payment 

card related to the transaction account. Lastly, a tax rate of 0.4 % applies for the amount of booked 

expenses related to the execution of a financial transaction, which refers to the taxpayer’s activity 

performed in Slovakia13. 

1.8  The  Law  contains  detailed  provisions  relating  to  the  calculation,  collection  and  administration 

(including record-keeping requirements) of the tax in respect of each tax period for which it is due14.  

1.9  The Law will apply as of 1 January 202515. 

2. 

Appropriate time to consult the ECB  

2.1  As  previously  noted  by  the  ECB,  in  cases  of  particular  urgency  that  do  not  allow  for  a  normal 

consultation period, the consulting authority may indicate urgency in the consultation request and 

the time limit for the submission of the ECB’s opinion may be reduced16. However, as emphasised 

by the ECB on several occasions in its opinions17, even in cases of particular urgency, or where the 

legislation  has  reached  an  advanced  stage,  the  national  authorities  are  not  relieved  of  their  duty 

under  Articles  127(4)  and  282(5)  of  the  Treaty  to  consult  the  ECB  at  an  appropriate  stage  in  the 

national legislative process18 that allows sufficient time for the ECB to examine the draft legislative 

provisions and for the relevant national authorities to take the ECB’s opinion into consideration before 

the provisions are adopted. In this respect, the Court of Justice of the European Union has noted 

that the obligation to consult the  ECB  under the Treaty is intended  ‘essentially  to ensure  that the 

legislature  adopts  the  act  only  when  the  body  has  been  heard,  which,  by  virtue  of  the  specific 

functions that it exercises in the Community [Union] framework in the area concerned and by virtue 

of the high degree of expertise that it enjoys, is particularly well placed to play a useful role in the 

legislative process envisaged’19.   

3. 

Application of the tax to NBS 

3.1  The  ECB  understands  that  the  tax  applies  to  NBS.  While  the  Law  excludes  a  number  of  bodies 

governed by public law from its scope of application, it does not exclude NBS. The Law applies to 

legal persons, including NBS.  

3.2  Eurosystem monetary policy operations carried out by NBS may benefit from the exemption from the 

tax in respect of payment transactions executed within a payment or clearing and settlement system 

between  settlement  agents,  central  counterparties,  clearing  houses  or  central  banks  and  other 

13  

14  

15  

16  

17 

18  

19  

Article I, Sections 6 and 7, of the Law. 

Article I, Sections 9 to 13, of the Law. 

Article V of the Law. 

See Opinions CON/2010/8, CON/2010/56 and CON/2019/9. All ECB opinions are published on EUR-Lex. 

See Opinions CON/2010/8, CON/2010/56, CON/2019/9, CON/2023/42, CON/2024/5 and CON/2024/11. 

See Article 4, second sentence, of Decision 98/415/EC. 

Judgment of the Court of Justice of 10 July 2003, Commission v ECB, C-11/00, EU:C:2003:395, paragraphs 110 and 
111. 

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participants in the payment or clearing and settlement system in financial instruments and PSPs 20. 

In  this  respect,  the  ECB  understands  that  all  euro-denominated  payment  orders  relating  to  the 

participation  by  NBS’s  counterparties  in  Eurosystem  open  market  operations  or  the  use  of  the 

Eurosystem’s standing facilities are settled on the counterparties’ accounts with NBS in the TARGET 

payment system21. However, the wording of this exemption could give rise to legal uncertainty. For 

example,  it might be argued that the exemption  is limited  to payment orders arising  out  of NBS’s 

counterparties’ participation in the TARGET payment system, as distinct from their participation in 

Eurosystem monetary policy operations.  

3.3  The ECB understands that all payment system operations carried out by NBS (1) within the TARGET 

payment system, including the TARGET-SK component, and (2) within the retail payment system 

SIPS, both operated by NBS, will clearly benefit from the exemption from the tax under the  Law in 

respect of payment transactions executed within payment or clearing and settlement systems 22. 

3.4  Other  exemptions  from  the  tax  which  may  be  relevant  to  certain  Eurosystem  monetary  policy 

operations  carried  out  by  NBS  concern  payment  transactions  relating  to  the  management  of 

securities or other financial instruments, which could be relevant to payment orders in connection 

with collateralised Eurosystem monetary policy operations, and payment transactions in relation to 

the purchase of Slovak Government bonds23.  

3.5  The  extent  to  which  NBS’s  foreign  exchange  and  foreign  reserve  management  operations  may 

benefit from the exemptions from the tax in respect of payment transactions executed within payment 

or  clearing  and  settlement  systems  or  relating  to  the  management  of  securities  or  other  financial 

instruments24 is unclear. 

3.6  Finally,  the  ECB  understands  that  the  issuance  of  banknotes  by  NBS  to  credit  institutions  will  be 

subject to the tax. 

4. 

Monetary policy considerations  

4.1  The  euro  area  inflation  rate  reached  record  levels  over  the  course  of  2022  and  posed  significant 

challenges for the conduct of monetary policy. Guided by its primary objective of  maintaining price 

stability, the ECB has taken determined action to ensure a timely return of inflation to the 2 % target 

over the medium term. Key ECB policy rates were raised by a cumulative 450 basis points between 

20  

21   

Article I, Section 4(2)(s), of the Law. 

See  Article  27(6)  of  the  Decision  of  the  NBS  2/2015  on  the  implementation  of  the  Eurosystem  monetary  policy 
framework in the Slovak Republic, as amended. One of the preconditions to be able to participate in the monetary 
policy operations of the Eurosystem is to have an account with the  national central bank (NCB) where transactions 
can be settled. Usually, this account is in TARGET.  See also Articles 19 and 22 of Guideline (EU) 2015/510 of the 
European Central Bank of 19 December 2014 on the implementation of the Eurosystem monetary policy framework 
(ECB/2014/60)  (OJ  L  91,  2.4.2015,  p.  3).  TARGET  provides,  inter  alia,  main  cash  accounts  for  the  settlement  of 
operations with central banks in euro and in central bank money. See Article 1(a) of Guideline (EU) 2022/912 of the 
European  Central  Bank  of  24  February  2022  on  a  new-generation  Trans-European  Automated  Real-time  Gross 
Settlement  Express  Transfer  system  (TARGET)  and  repealing  Guideline  ECB/2012/27  (ECB/2022/8)  (OJ  L  163, 
17.6.2022, p. 84). While there are cases where the euro-denominated account of the counterparty with the NCB is not 
in  TARGET,  this  is  not  the  case  for  NBS,  where  all  euro-denominated  payment  orders  arising  out  of  Eurosystem 
monetary policy operations are settled via TARGET accounts.  

22  

23  

24  

Article I, Section 4(2)(s), of the Law. 

Article I, Section 4(2)(c) and (d), of the Law. 

Article I, Section 4(2)(c) and (s), of the Law. 

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July 2022 and September 2023, with the intention of dampening demand and guarding against the 

risk of a persistent upward shift in inflation expectations. More recently, following a period  of rate 

stabilisation, key interest rates have been reduced in view of the ongoing disinflationary process. 

4.2  The conditions under which credit institutions deposit funds in the deposit facility play a key role in 

the monetary policy stance, and thus in the impact of monetary policy on aggregate demand and 

ultimately on inflation rates. If the Eurosystem monetary policy operations carried out by NBS are not 

exempted, the imposition of a tax will raise the price of central bank money, thereby interfering with 

the ECB’s monetary policy that sets the price of money through its key interest rates. For the reasons 

set out below, the imposition of a tax under such circumstances would not be justified. 

4.3  First, the tax would interfere with the ECB’s monetary policy decisions by tightening the monetary 

policy stance. The monetary policy stance is  steered  by the key ECB  interest rate on the deposit 

facility,  which  is  the  policy  rate  of  reference  since  the  revision  of  the  operational  framework 

implemented on 18 September 2024. The imposition of a tax, by penalising the participation of credit 

institutions in monetary policy credit operations, would affect the attractiveness of overnight deposits 

with NBS. Such a tax would thus be equivalent to an increase in the ECB’s deposit facility rate. 

4.4  Second, the tax would distort the signalling of the monetary policy stance. The imposition of a higher 

tax on the issuance of banknotes by NBS than on digital reserves, as provided for by the Law, would 

indeed  distort  the  price  of  central  bank  money,  by  affecting  central  bank  reserves  differently, 

depending on whether they are held digitally or in the form of cash. 

4.5 

In addition to their access to central bank reserves, credit institutions exchange liquidity in the money 

market. The ECB’s monetary policy decisions are determined by price stability considerations, such 

as the need  to  provide or  absorb  liquidity  in the market, and favourable liquidity conditions in the 

money market are crucial for the effective implementation of these decisions. The tax may indirectly 

affect  monetary  policy  implementation  through  its  likely  detrimental  impact  on  financial  market 

liquidity, which could impede price discovery. This could impede the achievement of the monetary 

policy objectives of the Eurosystem, of which NBS is a part25.  

4.6  Moreover,  the  imposition  of  a  tax  could  lead  to  an  increase  in  bank  funding  costs,  which  would 

adversely affect the provision of credit to the Slovak economy. This possibility exists in view of the 

increase  in  the  cost  of  central  bank  funding  –  in  the  event  that  the  Eurosystem  monetary  policy 

operations carried out by NBS are not exempted from the tax – and in view of the potential depletion 

of  the  deposit  base  of  Slovak  banks,  as  taxpayers  would  try  to  avoid  the  tax  on  their  financial 

transactions in Slovakia and possibly shift part of their financial activity to other jurisdictions. In that 

respect,  the  tax  could  additionally  give  rise  to  some  degree  of  distortion  in  the  transmission  of 

monetary policy throughout the euro area.  

4.7  The tax may also give rise to further distortion in the transmission of monetary policy within the Slovak 

economy  itself,  with  adverse  implications  for  recovery.  First,  the  tax  could  lower  the  demand  for 

corporate loans. In a context of policy rate cuts, this would have detrimental repercussions on the 

transmission of monetary policy. Second, the tax would de facto represent a turnover tax for firms 

and  disadvantage  firms  that  have  a  high  turnover  and/or  are  cash-intensive.  As  the  tax  applies 

25  

See paragraph 3 of Opinion CON/2012/59. 

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irrespective of profits, it may have a disproportionate impact on smaller firms that have lesser ability 

to  optimise  their  tax  liabilities,  and  on  firms  that  generate  low  profits  relative  to  their  turnover. 

Moreover, this type of tax would asymmetrically affect certain transaction-intensive sectors, such as 

retail trade or mail-order services. This effect is likely to be exacerbated by the fact that the tax is 

anticipated to be higher for cash withdrawals than for electronic payments. 

5. 

Financial stability considerations  

5.1  The introduction of a permanent tax in a manner that is not harmonised with other Member States 

may  produce  distortions  in  financial  markets  and  lead  to  fragmentation  in  the  European  financial 

system26. As noted in paragraph 4.6, the asymmetric imposition of the tax may incentivise taxpayers 

to shift part of their financial activity to other jurisdictions in an effort to optimise their own tax liability. 

This may take the form of  transferring financial operations to other entities in the same corporate 

group  or  establishing  payment  accounts  in  other  jurisdictions.  This  may  result  in  the  migration  of 

taxpayer deposits from payment accounts held in Slovakia which may negatively impact bank funding 

liquidity and costs and PSPs’ profitability. This may in turn interfere with the ability of PSPs authorised 

and supervised by NBS27 to meet the prudential requirements laid down in Directive (EU) 2015/2366 

of the European Parliament and of the Council28 as transposed into Slovak law.  

5.2  Additionally,  in  order  to  comply  with  the  Law,  PSPs  will  be  required  to  implement  the  necessary 

adjustments to IT and administrative systems for the collection and transfer of the tax to the Slovak 

tax authority29. The increased operational costs may be passed on to clients, making PSPs providing 

services in  Slovakia less competitive vis-à-vis other  providers in the Union.  This may result  in  an 

increase in the price of payment services and consequently weaken demand for payment services 

in Slovakia, decrease the access of certain segments of the taxpayer population to payment services 

and partially divert economic and financial activity to other Member States30. Additionally, there is a 

risk of double taxation for taxpayers that also operate through branches in other jurisdictions where 

a similar tax is also levied31. 

5.3  Given the potential impact the tax may have on the volume of financial transactions and the demand 

for  payment  services,  the  ECB  recommends  that  the  Slovakian  legislature  should  undertake  a 

comprehensive  impact  assessment  to  identify  potential  negative  consequences  of  the  tax  for  the 

Slovakian financial system and wider economy. 

5.4  The ECB has consistently expressed its support for efforts taken towards the realisation of a Capital 

Markets Union (CMU) which would strengthen the role of the euro and integrate the Union’s financial 

sector32.  The  Commission  has  identified  heterogenous  national  tax  regimes,  leading  to  market 

26  

27   

See paragraph 4.2 of Opinion CON/2023/35. 

Law on payment services.  

28    Directive (EU) 2015/2366 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 on payment services 
in  the  internal  market,  amending  Directives  2002/65/EC,  2009/110/EC  and  2013/36/EU  and  Regulation  (EU)  No 
1093/2010, and repealing Directive 2007/64/EC (OJ L 337, 23.12.2015, p 35).  

29   

30   

31   

32   

See Article I, Section 10(1), of the Law.  

See paragraph 4 of Opinion CON/2012/59. 

See paragraph 4.5 of Opinion CON/2023/26.  
See, for example, paragraph 1.4 of Opinion CON/2022/11, paragraph 1.2 of Opinion CON/2022/19, paragraph 1.2.1 
of Opinion CON/2023/11 and paragraph 1.3 of Opinion CON/2023/30. 

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fragmentation and impeding cross border investment, as one of the most significant barriers to the 

establishment of a well-functioning CMU33. In this vein, the heterogenous tax treatment of financial 

transactions by a Member State may interfere with the advancement of the CMU and of Union efforts 

to harmonise the regulation of payment transactions to ensure market participants fully benefit from 

the  internal  market34.  Accordingly,  the  ECB  invites  the  Slovakian  legislature  to  consider  the 

consequences of the tax on the Union’s objectives with respect to the CMU. 

6. 

Cash withdrawal considerations 

6.1  Payment transactions carried out with payment cards, other than cash withdrawals, are exempted 

from the tax35. While a tax rate of 0.4 % and a maximum of EUR 40 apply for financial transactions 

in which funds are debited from the taxpayer’s account, a tax rate of 0.8 % with no upper limit applies 

for cash withdrawals. Furthermore, a tax of EUR 2 per year is payable for the use of a payment card 

related to the transaction account. 

6.2  On 28 June 2023 the Commission published a proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament 

and of the Council on the legal tender of euro banknotes and coins36, which includes an obligation 

for Member States to ensure sufficient and effective access to cash throughout their territory.  

6.3  Cash withdrawals are a key channel of access to euro cash. Since individual payment transactions 

carried out with payment cards are exempted from the tax, the tax introduces an additional cost with 

respect to the use of cash that does not apply to card payments. As a result, it introduces a constraint 

on access to cash that undermines the effectiveness of the legal tender status of euro banknotes37. 

The ECB therefore recommends that the tax should be reconsidered. The ECB is neutral with regard 

to  cash  and  electronic  means  of  payment,  meaning  that  it  does  not  favour  one  instrument  over 

another.  As  a  result,  the  ECB  follows  a  carefully  considered  and  balanced  approach  to  national 

measures taken in this area. National measures should not make the use of euro banknotes more 

expensive  in  practice  than  electronic  methods  of  payment,  thus  putting  the  effectiveness  of  legal 

tender at a disadvantage38. 

6.4  Moreover, the ECB is concerned that the tax may set a precedent for the possible future taxation on 

the channels available to access euro banknotes and coins39.  

7. 

Legal and central bank independence considerations 

7.1  Pursuant to Article 127(1), first sentence, of the Treaty, together with the Law on  Národná banka 

Slovenska40 (hereinafter the ‘Law on NBS’), the primary objective of the European System of Central 

Banks (ESCB) and of NBS is to maintain price stability. Pursuant to Article 127(2), first indent, of the 

33    COM(2020) 590.   

34   

See Opinion CON/2024/13. 

35  

36  

37  

38  

39  

40  

See Article I, Section 4(2)(u), of the Law. 

COM(2023) 364 final. 

See paragraph 2.3 of Opinion CON/2015/55. 

See paragraphs 2.1, 2.2 and 2.4 of Opinion CON/2015/55.  

See paragraph 2.3 of Opinion CON/2015/55. 

Article 2(1) of Law no 566/1992 Coll. on the Národná banka Slovenska, as amended. 

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Treaty, a basic task to be carried out through the ESCB, including NBS, is to define and implement 

the monetary policy of the Union. Pursuant to Article 17 of the Statute of the  European System of 

Central Banks and of the European Central Bank (hereinafter the ‘Statute of the ESCB’), in order to 

conduct their operations, the NCBs, including NBS, may open accounts for credit institutions, public 

entities  and  other  market  participants  and  accept  assets,  including  book  entry  securities,  as 

collateral. Pursuant to Article 18.1 of the Statute of the ESCB, in order to achieve the objectives of 

the ESCB and to carry out its tasks, the NCBs may (1) operate in financial markets by buying and 

selling  outright  (spot  and  forward)  or  under  repurchase  agreement  and  by  lending  or  borrowing 

claims and marketable instruments, whether in euro or other currencies, as well as precious metals; 

and (2) conduct credit operations with credit institutions and other market participants, with lending 

being based on adequate collateral. Pursuant to Article 18.2 of the Statute of the ESCB, the ECB is 

to establish general principles for open market operations and credit operations carried out by itself 

or  the  NCBs,  including  NBS,  including  for  the  announcement  of  the  conditions  under  which  they 

stand ready to enter into such transactions.  

7.2  Pursuant to Article 127(2), second and third indents, of the Treaty, two of the basic tasks to be carried 

out through the ESCB, including NBS, are to conduct foreign exchange operations consistent with 

the exchange-rate policy for the euro in relation to non-EU currencies and to hold and manage the 

foreign reserves of the Member States, including Slovakia. Pursuant to Article 23, second and third 

indents, of the Statute of the ESCB, the NCBs, including NBS, may acquire and sell spot and forward 

all types of foreign exchange assets and precious metals, and hold and manage these assets. 

7.3  Pursuant to Article 128(1) of the Treaty, the ECB  has the exclusive right to authorise the issue of 

euro banknotes within the Union. The ECB and the NCBs, including NBS, may issue such notes. 

The banknotes issued by the ECB and the NCBs are the only such notes to have the status of legal 

tender within the Union. Furthermore, according to the Court of Justice, Article 128(1) of the Treaty 

underpins the singleness of the euro and is a precondition for the effective conduct of the Union’s 

monetary policy41. 

7.4  NBS is a public institution whose primary objective – in line with the Treaty, the Statute of the ESCB 

and the Law on NBS – is, as noted above, to maintain price stability. In order to achieve this, NBS 

participates in the common monetary policy which the ECB sets for the euro area. In the performance 

of  such  tasks  by  NBS,  the  Slovak  authorities  should  respect  the  principle  of  central  bank 

independence42. The principle of central bank independence enshrined in Article 130 of the Treaty 

requires,  inter  alia,  that:  (1)  an  NCB’s  functional  independence  should  be  ensured  by  having  the 

necessary means and instruments for achieving price stability independently of any other authority; 

and (2) an NCB’s financial independence should be respected by ensuring that a Member State may 

not put its NCB in a position where it has insufficient financial resources and inadequate net equity 

to carry out its ESCB-related tasks.  

7.5 

If Eurosystem monetary policy operations carried out  by NBS are not exempted from the tax, the 

Law may impair NBS’s functional and institutional independence. First, the Law may impair functional 

41  

See  judgment  of  the  Court  of  Justice  of  26  January  2021,  Hessischer  Rundfunk,  C-422/19  and  C-423/19, 
EU:C:2021:63, paragraph 43. 

42  

See paragraph 3 of Opinion CON/2012/59. 

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independence  as  the  tax  –  if  applicable  to  NBS’s  monetary  policy  operations  –  could  disrupt  the 

monetary  policy  transmission  mechanism  by  penalising  the  participation  of  credit  institutions  in 

monetary  policy  operations,  such  as  credit  operations,  and  hence  affect  the  attractiveness  of 

overnight deposits within NBS. Second, the Law may impair NBS’s financial independence as the 

imposition of the tax on NBS’s monetary policy operations might negatively impact NBS’s ability to 

restore its reserves independently with the income arising from these operations, because part of 

this income would need to be systematically allocated to the payment of the tax, leading de facto to 

limiting the financial resources available to NBS to carry out its ESCB-related tasks43. 

7.6  To  conclude,  as  a  matter  of  principle,  the  imposition  of  a  tax  on  NBS’s  monetary  policy,  foreign 

exchange, foreign reserve management and cash issuance operations would be incompatible with 

the  Eurosystem’s  functional  independence,  and  therefore  unjustified.  Given  the  unclear  and 

inconsistent scope and wording of the exemptions from the tax that NBS may to some extent enjoy 

in respect of its Eurosystem operations, and also taking account of the need to protect NBS’s financial 

independence, the ECB invites the Slovak authorities to consider granting NBS a general exemption 

from the tax.   

This opinion will be published on EUR-Lex.  

Done at Frankfurt am Main, 8 November 2024. 

[signed] 

The President of the ECB 

Christine LAGARDE 

43  

See paragraph 3 of Opinion CON/2012/59. 

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