Archive of articles - February 2012, page 3
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Slovakia to participate in Greek loan
SLOVAKIA will contribute to the second bailout package for Greece after ministers of finance of the eurozone agreed on February 21 to provide another €130 billion to the country, while private creditors simultaneously forgave Greece 53.5 percent of its debt to them, the Sme daily reported.The specific amount of money that will be provided by Slovakia will depend on the sum lent by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). If this is €23 billion, as per a proposal by German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble, Slovakia’s guarantees would be up to €1 billion, Sme wrote.
The big generational shift?
In the early 1990s, in connection with fundamental changes in society, the foundations of a number of successful – as well as less successful – companies were laid. Their owners and managers sometimes learned literally from their own life experiences how to run a business under the conditions of a market economy. New companies emerged after 1989 also thanks to the influx of foreign investments and opening of local branches and trade representations of global corporations. In these cases the take-off was somewhat easier, mainly thanks to imported know-how.
Bank tax raises over €22m in Q1
BANKS have started paying a recently introduced special tax on their assets in Slovakia. In total they paid over €22.4 million into the state’s coffers during the first quarter of 2012, according to a report in the Hospodárske Noviny financial daily in late January.
Žitňanská to bid for SDKÚ chair
IF ABOUT a month ago the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ) was worried about an apparent fall in its popularity which meant, according to opinion polls, that it risked losing its leading position on the Slovak right, a February 17 poll by the MVK agency has flung up an even more urgent concern. It suggested that support for the party, led by former prime minister and current foreign minister Mikuláš Dzurinda, had slumped to 4.3 percent, below the 5-percent threshold required to win any seats in parliament. Parliamentary elections will take place in Slovakia on March 10.
Scientists call for construction halt in national parks
MORE than 50 scientists have signed an open letter asking that the state halt all construction activities that have an impact on wildlife in Slovakia’s national parks until a new zoning scheme that meets international standards is adopted. The scientists’ letter to Environment Minister József Nagy, a nominee of Most-Híd, dated February 14, states that several ski-resort projects within the Tatras National Park (TANAP) in Štrbské Pleso, Tatranská Lomnica, Spálená, and Jakubkova Lúka have caused “irreversible destruction of habitats of European importance with an overall societal value estimated at €14.7 million”.
Education in Pukanec
THE TOWN of Pukanec in south-central Slovakia was primarily a mining town. But it is interesting to take a look at how the town’s children were educated in the past.
Roma leave Smižany for Canada
SEVERAL Roma families have left the village of Smižany in eastern Slovakia and are seeking residence in Canada. While residents of the Roma community in Smižany said that up to 200 people have left since the beginning of the year, the labour office in Spišská Nová Ves reported that it knows of only 11 families with children who have done so, the Sme daily reported.
Property taxes rise across Slovakia
LOCAL real estate tax rates increased by 13.5 percent on average across Slovakia in 2012. Out of 79 districts, 41 increased their rates and four decreased them, the TASR newswire reported in late January.
Choosing what to study and where
In December 2011 the number of unemployed young people who had recently graduated from secondary schools, high schools and universities in Slovakia stood at 30,798. They constituted a significant portion of the overall number of unemployed: more than 362,428 (December 2011), one of the highest levels for more than seven years. Labour market watchers warn that many school-leavers have difficulty finding jobs in the areas in which they have specialised. Their problems often start with their choice of school.
Celebrating Valentine’s Day around Slovakia
Several events in Bratislava marked St Valentine’s Day – and not only for enamoured couples. A musical programme was held at Kuchajda Lake and Chinese happiness lanterns were released at dusk. People who brought a certificate confirming they had made a blood donation received a free happiness lantern. The city part of Ružinov hosted free ice skating for all age categories at its Areál Radosť that also involved a competition for children between 15:00 and 17:00.
Software chaos hits tax administration
SLOVAKIA’S new Financial Administration, which merged the work of separate tax and customs administrations at the beginning of 2012, has been sent into chaos by a malfunctioning information system, sending administration employees back to using paper forms and handheld calculators. Finance Minister Ivan Mikloš responded by sacking Igor Krnáč, the head of the Financial Administration, after less than two months in that post based on what the minister called a failure to properly perform his tasks related to installation of new software, called KONS, that was supposed to be fully functional as of February 1.
Countrywide Events
Western SLOVAKIA
Quote of the week
“I was seeking … information, but it appears that I would not make a good spy.”
Institutions in the tax and audit field in Slovakia
Finance MinistryMinister of Finance: Ivan Miklošwww.finance.gov.sk
Košice’s gold goes to Krakow
THE FAMOUS collection of coins known as the Košice Golden Treasure has left its home in eastern Slovakia and gone on show in the dignified setting of Wawel Castle in the southern Polish city of Krakow.
2011 tax revenue almost on target
THE STATE’S revenue from taxes in 2011 amounted to €8.7 billion, or more than 99 percent of the amount set out in the budget. The final amount fell just €86.5 million short of the plan. In individual categories the state collected more in value added tax and in excise tax on tobacco products, while collection of excise tax on mineral oils and corporate taxes failed to reach the budgeted figures. The Finance Ministry’s Institute of Financial Policy (IFP) announced preliminary tax collection results on January 3.
Books in English now available
Zulu Hart. Saul David. Hodder & Stoughton, 2009.David, a popular historian, here turns to historical fiction. Zulu Hart plays on the real events of the 1879 campaign in South Africa and focuses, apart from bloody clashes and the depiction of some army officers’ characters, on the story of George Hart. Bullied at school for his suspiciously dark skin and lack of a father, he soon learns to fight – and win. At the age of 18, he learns from his mother that his anonymous father is willing to give him a vast inheritance – if he can prove himself worthy as an officer in the King’s Dragoon Guards.
MPs nix excise tax on fruit wines
FRUIT WINES and mead are again exempt from excise tax. Slovak MPs voted to lift the duty in early February, only a month after it became effective. Their amendment reintroduced zero-rate excise tax on still, fermented drinks and mead, the SITA newswire reported.
First charges laid in VOS wiretap case
THE FIRST charges have been brought in association with the interception last year of journalists’ telephone calls by the Military Defence Intelligence (VOS), Slovakia’s military counter-intelligence service, which operates under the Ministry of Defence. Deputy general prosecutor Dobroslav Trnka announced the charges while appearing on TV news channel TA3. Ľubomír Galko of Freedom and Solidarity (SaS), who was fired as defence minister after the bugging came to light, said that Trnka’s on-air announcement meant he was unfairly interfering in the election campaign in the lead-up to the March 10 general election.
Fighting youth joblessness
THE LABOUR market has given Slovakia another gloomy economic statistic with the Central Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family reporting that the January unemployment rate hit 13.69 percent, the highest since June 2004, when 13.91 percent of the country’s economically active population was unemployed. The high number of persons unemployed for a year or longer and the growing number of young people without jobs is causing consternation in many quarters, not least among those looking for work.
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- Slovak female triathlete shatters barriers with historic win at Himalayan event
- Weekend: Celebration of fun comes to Malacky Photo
- News digest: Fico’s bloc wants to save money by restricting electoral access
- Slovakia plans to restrict access to new medicines amid funding shortfall
- No more photos or bank statements? Slovakia moves to ease residence process
- Top 10 events in Bratislava for foreigners More articles ›
