So what about the taxation of ETFs?

So what about the taxation of ETFs? The Financial Administration’s statement in 2021 scared perhaps all Slovak investors in ETF funds. It indicated that it does not apply “always and everywhere”, that the sale of ETF funds is not taxed after one year and stated that the taxpayer (meaning also the FO investing EUR 20 per month) must find out “A, B, C and D” in order to be able to claim the tax exemption. Eventually she withdrew this statement (from the internet) and the MoF promised legal certainty on this matter. It is 2024 and we have not moved anywhere in that legal certainty. That is why we have decided to cover this topic more comprehensively in our Highgate Talks podcast. However, answering such a trivial question at first glance is not entirely straightforward. In addition to (i) tax law and (ii) capital markets law (we are, after all, talking about funds and financial regulation), it is also necessary to look at the issue through (iii) an economic and investment lens. Unfortunately, only the combination of these three areas has the potential to provide a relevant answer to this (in principle) fundamental tax question. And there is perhaps the reason why the state has not yet provided legal certainty. And that’s why we took the liberty of inviting Michal Majek of Tatra Asset Management to our next podcast, this time on the topic of “How are ETFs taxed?”. And it was just for the sake of completing that puzzle and to give us his economic-investment perspective (explanation of point (iii) above). More info as well as the podcast can be found in my next LinkedIn newsletter.