Archive of articles - March 2014, page 18
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Village life in Slovakia a joy (video included)
“There are just so many people with real friendships, who care about real things,” said marketing and media advisor Alan Craig, an American living in village Sekule, in the Záhorie Region. He adds with smile that village life in Slovakia is pure joy and with a slight nostalgia recalls traditions from Pennsylvania in comparison to Slovakia.
Glossary: Slovakia struggles to raise top athletes
Spectator College provides readers of The Slovak Spectator who are trying to improve their English with glossaries of useful and frequently used words and expressions from stories published as part of the Spectator College as well as in the rest of the newspaper. As well as this special glossary, which relates to the article Slovakia struggles to raise top athletes, you can find more expressions in our Glossary for politics & business or in the List of names of institutions in English and Slovak.
French films open the month of Francophony
FRENCH films are highly regarded in Slovakia, with the International Festival of Francophone Film in Bratislava (FIFBA) formerly being a regular annual event. In 2014, French cinema will return to Slovakia, this time in the form of the Week of French Films.
Tax revenue exceeds plans
SLOVAKIA’S tax revenue reached €9.14 billion in 2013, which was better than expected, exceeding the plan by 2.51 percent, or €228 million, the SITA newswire wrote. Total tax and non-tax revenue of the state budget amounted to €9.45 billion, according to the Financial Directorate.
Who is Milan Kňažko?
MILAN Kňažko was born on August 28, 1945 in Horné Plachtince. He graduated from the Academy of Performing Arts (VŠMU) in Bratislava and has had a notable career as a movie and theatre actor. Due to his opposition to the communist regime, Kňažko was the only artist who actually returned the title of “merited artist” in 1989. Kňažko has never been a member of the Communist Party and he considers it a fundamental problem when a former member of the Communist Party runs for president.
Harmonised inflation zero in January
A HALT in price growth was confirmed by the harmonised data according to the European Union methodology. Harmonised inflation in Slovakia in January was zero percent, the same as inflation measured using the national methodology, the SITA newswire reported.
Easier access to business partners' finance data
BUSINESSES have a new tool for checking on current and potential business partners: the online registry of financial statements. In addition to providing useful data, the registry makes doing business easier by reducing administrative burdens. While some fear that publishing financial statements could violate trade secrets and give their competition an unfair advantage, experts say this is not the case.
The real threat
IT SEEMS that these days some societies in Europe are eager to protect those who do not need protection, while at the same time overlooking vulnerable groups who are in urgent need of protection from rather real threats, not to mention promoting campaign-induced fear.
Special tax on trading with tax haven
THE STATE has imposed a special tax on trading of Slovak companies with tax havens. Within eight large tax-related changes adopted by parliament in late 2013, the state increased the common tax rate of 19 percent to 35 percent on payments of companies with offshore accounts, the online edition of the Trend weekly reported in early January.
Institutions in the tax and audit field in Slovakia
-Finance Ministry, www.finance.gov.skFinance Minister: Peter Kažimír
GP questions mild punishments
A REVIEW of the botched investigation into last year’s neo-Nazi attack on patrons of the Mariatchi Bar in Nitra has led to punishment for the prosecutors but not for the police officers involved in the case.
Who is Andrej Kiska?
ANDREJ Kiska is PM Robert Fico’s most likely competitor in the run-off. The most recent Focus poll even suggests he might be set to win the election. The media typically refer to Kiska as a millionaire and philanthropist. Born in Poprad on February 2, 1963, Kiska has a degree in electro-technical engineering, but he made his career and fortune in the consumer lending business. In 1996-2005 he and his brother founded and ran the hire-purchase companies Triangel and Quatro, the first ones on the market. Kiska sold his shares in the two companies in 2005 to found a charity project, Dobrý Anjel (Good Angel), along with his friend, businessman Igor Brosman. Kiska claims he put Sk30 million (about €1 million) into the project at its start. Before long Dobrý Anjel became very successful.
Waiting to assess the tax license effect
TAX licenses are the most discussed tax changes adopted last year, and while their introduction was accompanied by a 1-percent reduction of the corporate income tax to 22 percent, the corporate and tax sectors continue to criticise the changes in this and other policies.
Countrywide Events
Western SLOVAKIA
Kiska: 'I am not one of those traditional politicians'
ANDREJ Kiska emphasises that he is not one of those politicians who have been sitting for years in parliament or the government, and while some observers consider his lack of political experience a disadvantage, he sees it as one of his strengths. Ahead of the first round of the presidential election scheduled for March 15, The Slovak Spectator spoke to Kiska, who says he was fortunate enough to become financially independent and thus he will not have to report to any political party.
Costs for 2022 Olympic-bid revealed
SHOULD the plan to jointly host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games with Poland become a reality, it will cost Slovakia €177 million, according to a document cleared by the government on February 26.
The Pálffys' hunting lodge
THE MIDDLE section of the Small Carpathians, marked by soaring hills, steep slopes and deep valleys, is typically considered the most picturesque. Perhaps it was this untamed natural beauty that prompted the Pálffy family to build a hunting lodge there. The charming lodge, completed in 1865 near the municipality of Kuchyňa in the Záhorie region, was named Vývrat (Blowdown).
Poll: Smer voters also dissatisfied
MOST of Slovakia’s citizens are unhappy with the performance of the prime minister and his government, mainly in the areas that are most important to them.
UPDATED: Slovak officials call for diplomatic solutions to Crimea
REPRESENTATIVES of Slovakia, Ukraine’s neighbour, called for diplomatic solutions to the latest escalations of tensions in Crimea after Russia sent its troops to the Ukrainian peninsula in what observers call the biggest crisis between Russia and western countries since the end of the Cold War.
Kňažko: 'I am now unlikely to change'
THE VOTERS would not be buying a “pig in a poke” if they vote for him, suggests Milan Kňažko, a leading personality of the Velvet Revolution who has been active in post-revolutionary public and political life, and now is running for the presidency in the March 15 election. “I am now unlikely to change,” he told The Slovak Spectator.
- Slovak physicist: I do not employ doctoral students; I make them go abroad. I expect them to push us forward
- Where can vegetarians and gluten-free diners eat out in Bratislava?
- The law changed. Our family papers were ready. Now my kids are Slovak citizens
- Music in the veins
- Weekend: Summer kick-offs around every corner Photo
- Top 10 events in Bratislava for foreigners
- Irish outlet hails Slovak spa town Piešťany as a top European holiday spot
- News digest: Ex-judge Harabin cleared of charges over pro-Russian war comments
- Man appeals for help finding strangers who saved his life
- Slovak physicist: I do not employ doctoral students; I make them go abroad. I expect them to push us forward
- Weekend: Summer kick-offs around every corner Photo
- After years of straddling two worlds, this American is now reconnecting with his Slovak roots
- Top 10 events in Bratislava for foreigners
- Where can vegetarians and gluten-free diners eat out in Bratislava?
- The law changed. Our family papers were ready. Now my kids are Slovak citizens
- News digest: Renaissance lady vanishes, ministry brushes off ‘stupid questions’
- Why a British teacher chose Slovakia as home Audio
- Where can vegetarians and gluten-free diners eat out in Bratislava?
- Slovak physicist: I do not employ doctoral students; I make them go abroad. I expect them to push us forward
- Man appeals for help finding strangers who saved his life
- Fico turns to X to shape his global image
- Slovakia’s secret weapon is living abroad
- Bratislava unveils its first 3D-printed bus stop Photo
- After years of straddling two worlds, this American is now reconnecting with his Slovak roots
- The law changed. Our family papers were ready. Now my kids are Slovak citizens
- Why a British teacher chose Slovakia as home Audio
- Bratislava unveils its first 3D-printed bus stop Photo
- Slovakia’s secret weapon is living abroad
- Where can vegetarians and gluten-free diners eat out in Bratislava?
- Slovak physicist: I do not employ doctoral students; I make them go abroad. I expect them to push us forward
- Irish metal band to make long-awaited debut in Bratislava Video
- Man appeals for help finding strangers who saved his life
- News digest: Ex-judge Harabin cleared of charges over pro-Russian war comments
- Slovak universities, SAV, local governments top 2025 trust rankings
- Irish outlet hails Slovak spa town Piešťany as a top European holiday spot
- “We, the European Ministers of Culture, are calling to open our eyes to the richness of our own cinema”
- Weekend: Summer kick-offs around every corner Photo
- With more tax irregularities detected, Slovakia still collects less
- Slovak brewers win hearts in Porto with beer inspired by a childhood favourite
- News digest: Renaissance lady vanishes, ministry brushes off ‘stupid questions’ More articles ›
