ZAGREB, 6 April 2022 - Green-Left Bloc parliamentary deputy Sandra Benčić said on Wednesday that her group was against a government reshuffle, and that the entire government should step down due to possible affairs that could compromise new government members, an allusion to Construction Minister Ivan Paladina.
"Construction Minister Ivan Paladina was appointed a month ago, and affairs regarding his ties with (the construction company) IGH have just begun to be discovered, his ties to Hidroelektra (construction company) are likely to be reported about as well," Benčić said in the parliament.
"We are yet to learn how he acquired the real estate he owns, and why someone with so many properties takes a loan to invest into who knows what", Benčić said, adding that she believed new discoveries were pending.
Benčić went on to say that there were allegations about criminal reports against Paladina.
"We do not know if they have been dismissed or not, but I find it unbelievable that Prime Minister Andrej Plenković has appointed him minister despite the fact that there are certain problems of which we have all been aware," she said.
In his declaration of assets Paladina declared buildings, hectares of land, savings deposits, and monthly loan installment payments in the amount of more than HRK 51,000, with his wife working in his firm for a salary of HRK 4,000.
"That says everything about our tax system. In our tax reform proposal we insist that the state should actually not care about which part of a taxpayer's income comes from work, and which from property or capital but how much the taxpayer earns in total, with the total amount being the criterion for putting taxpayers into specific tax groups, according to which they pay their taxes and contributions," Benčić said.
The MP noted that workers constituted the backbone of the country's health and pension systems while others, whose income comes from property and capital, have the possibility of paying themselves the minimum wage, which enables them to pay minimum taxes and contributions to the state while earning millions from capital and property, for which they pay a 10% tax.
"This country has been refusing to build a fair system for 30 years", she said, adding that the way Finance Minister Zdravko Marić tried to rectify it was completely wrong.
"Our tax system is utterly unfair because it favours the rich while the entire system of public services, also used by the rich, depends on those who earn the least", she said.
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