Archive of articles - September 2012, page 5
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Economic freedom improves
SLOVAKIA claimed 33rd place among the 144 monitored countries in the Economic Freedom Network list, topped by Hong Kong as the country with the most economic freedom in the world.
Tax on cigarettes rises again
INCREASING excise taxes on tobacco products higher and earlier than originally planned is one of several measures by the Robert Fico government aimed at consolidating Slovakia’s public finances. On September 11, parliament adopted a draft revision to the law on the excise tax on tobacco products that raised the applicable rates, the SITA newswire wrote.
Big historical festival turns town Baroque
On August 29, Maria Theresa, Austro-Hungarian Empress, arrived at the municipality of Mojmírovce (or at least her lookalike did). The empress entered the town, in the Nitra district, the hometown of her favourite companion Count Grassalkovich, with an elite entourage made up of a regiment from Karlovac and the feared hussars of Baron František Trenck.
Qutoe of the week
“If arrogance could [make you] fly, you would be hovering like a dove.”
Protest over children in care
IN THE most recent development concerning cases in which Slovak families livingin the UK have been separated from their children by the intervention of social services, the head of Slovakia’s Centre for International Protection of Children and Youths, Andrea Císarová, appealed a UK court decision to have two Slovak children put up for adoption. On September 18, a UK court decided to grant the mother in question another chance to appeal the previous ruling to her sons put up for adoption.The case concerns the Boór family, whose two sons were taken away from their parents, who were subsequently divorced. The mother and grandmother of the children earlier this year missed a deadline for appealing against the court’s decision.
Museum of traditional folk culture opens in Rejdová
A MUSEUM of traditional folk culture has been established in the distinctive village of Rejdová, in south-eastern Slovakia, as part of the project Terra Incognita. The project received a subsidy of €10,870. The museum resides in a renewed Gemer wooden house from the 19th century. Its aim is to preserve material and non-material cultural heritage in order to contribute to the development of tourism in the region. The museum was formally opened on August 24, during the 39th year of the Gemer Folklore Festival.
New government proxy
SLOVAKIA’S only Roma MP will become the government’s plenipotentiary for Roma communities.Opposition Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (OĽaNO) MP Peter Pollák will take up the post as of October 1, announced Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák, under whose remit the proxy office was shifted recently, on September 18.
Tax-related information on the web
There are a number of sources like advisory companies or law firms where private individuals or corporate entities may find detailed and updated information related to taxes in Slovakia. Some of them are also in English.
Transport info system approved
A NATIONAL System of Transport Information should be set up in the future in Slovakia, after parliament on September 18 approved a Transport Ministry-sponsored bill on intelligent transport systems.
Law changes too often in Slovakia, say tax experts
NOBODY questions the need to occasionally update tax legislation. But tax experts in Slovakia say that the tax laws here are changed too frequently, preventing corporate taxpayers from making accurate forecasts, increasing their administrative burden and signalling low legal certainty affecting the country as a whole.
NATO experts meet in Trenčín
SOME of the world’s leading experts on explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) met in the western-Slovak town of Trenčín on September 18 for the Demonstration and Trials 2012 conference organised by the NATO Emerging Security Challenges Division and the Trenčín-based NATO Explosive Ordnance Disposal Centre of Excellence, the first official NATO institution to be sited in Slovakia.
More Slovak firms in tax havens
INTEREST among Slovak companies in registering in countries deemed tax havens is rising significantly. Based on data from the independent Czech agency ČEKIA, the number of companies registered in tax havens increased by 7.1 percent during the first half of 2012. The number of such registrations grew by 213 to 3,208, representing 1.62 percent of the 191,000 firms operating in Slovakia, the SITA newswire reported, citing ČEKIA, in early August.
Curbing tax evasion and VAT fraud
ACCORDING to a well-known proverb there are only two things of which we can be certain: death and taxes. Naturally, people still attempt to combat both and Slovaks are as innovative as any when it comes to avoiding paying tax. In fact, the Slovak Finance Ministry has gone so far as to claim that tax evasion has become a national sport and even the threat of jail time does not deter some determined citizens from trying to dodge their financial responsibilities to the state.
Library exhibits items people left in books
Every summer, the town library in Kysucké Nové Mesto displays a range of objects found in returned library books. The library believes that the exhibition gives owners a chance to reclaim their belongings, especially photographs, and is a lesson for other readers to take more care over what they put into borrowed books. Apart from the usual bookmarks, librarians have found condoms, cribs, jewellery, wedding announcements, and love declarations in books. Dušana Šinalová, the head of the library, told the SITA newswire that the librarians have often found money too, which they have managed to return to its rightful owners. Since last year, the library has found about 80 forgotten items in books. This year’s Lost-and-Found exhibition took place from mid-July to mid-August.
Bratislava moves in rhythm
THE BRATISLAVA in Movement festival of contemporary dance was divided into two parts this year. The first part took place in June, while the second part will run from September 23 - 30.“I designed this [second] part to offer confrontation – confrontation in the sense of not just comparing the creative works, but also exchanging experiences,” head of the festival Mirka Kovářová told a press conference. “The festival includes two workshops led by established foreign choreographers, Canadian Mariko Tanabe and Italian Davide Sportelli. Sportelli’s project Skin is a workshop, the result of which will be a choreography performed within the festival, on September 29 and 30.”
Audit sector faces regulatory challenges
MANDATORY audit firm rotation and joint audits, as proposed by the European Commission for implementation across the EU, are the main challenges audit firms are currently facing. The auditing profession is being redefined and a range of important local and global initiatives may soon transform the audit market. Mark Eberst, partner of KPMG in Slovakia, and Dalimil Draganovský, head of the Assurance Services department at Ernst & Young in Slovakia, shared their views on the current challenges the audit sector faces as well as how it has been affected by the financial crisis.
Siberia emerged from a Sparkle
IN 1907, Count Teleki had a luxury villa built for his wife in the Tatra tourist resort Nový Smokovec. The building was named Szikra (meaning sparkle in Hungarian; Iskra in Slovak) which was not accidental: Countess Júlia Kende – Teleki used it as her pen name.
Holocaust Day marked by a host of events
ON SEPTEMBER 9, 2012, 71 years passed since the Jewish Code was approved by the wartime Slovak state. The date on which the persecution of Slovakia’s Jews was legalised is now commemorated as Holocaust Remembrance Day. Seventy one years in a nation’s history might be enough time for deep wounds to heal, but efforts are still continuing to ensure future generations do not forget what happened and to prevent the names and experiences of the victims from slipping into oblivion.
Homeless people clean illegal waste dumps
HOMELESS people from Bratislava have cleaned up illegal waste dumps located close to their makeshift dwellings. People without homes were helped by field social workers form the Vagus civic association, which organised the activity in cooperation with volunteers from the environmental organisation Green Patrol (Zelená hliadka). Altogether, they collected 38 bags of waste.
Ministers criticise Kaliňák draft
BRIBES to grease the right wheels when granting state orders or subsidies to businesses stand at 13 percent of the worth of a given order on average: so assume businesspeople active in Slovakia, according to a recent survey carried out by the Business Alliance of Slovakia (PAS). The survey is being released at a time when a draft revision to the law on public procurement that Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák pitched for interdepartmental review is fuelling debate and harvesting criticism from political ethics watchdogs as well as some members of the government of Robert Fico, including Economy Minister Tomáš Malatinský.
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