Finances and Advisory - page 6 - The Slovak Spectator

Tax havens become less attractive

THE NUMBER of Slovak companies with ownership registered in a tax haven decreased in the first half of 2015 by 112, to a total of 4,250.

Compiled by Spectator staff

Playing receipt lottery declines

THE SECOND government of Prime Minister Robert Fico wanted to be generous and distributive; but instead of austerity measures and savings in operating the state, it decided to improve tax collection.

Compiled by Spectator staff

Closing the VAT gap

Though tax collection in the EU generally lagged, Slovakia saw growth in its revenue.

Peter Adamovsky

Finance Minister Peter Kažimír (l) and PM Robert Fico (r)

Cabinet approves draft budget

SLOVAKIA’S deficit should amount to 1.93 percent of GDP next year, down from 2.74 percent planned for this year.

Compiled by Spectator staff

VAT to be reduced on some foods

AS PROMISED, the Robert Fico government has reduced the value added tax on selected foods from 20 to 10 percent. The parliament passed the related revision to the law on value added tax (VAT) on October 1, while the final list of foods with reduced VAT was revealed only one day before the new legislation was approved.

Jana Liptáková

12,000 people have sought help from banking ombudswoman

THE BANKING ombudswoman's office has been approached by more than 12,000 people since becoming established in 2007. It has also handled a total of 2,039 complaints regarding banking conduct over the same period.

Compiled by Spectator staff

Zuno sold into Russian hands

LOSS-MAKING online bank Zuno, operating in Slovakia and the Czech Republic will be under new ownership as the Austrian owners have sold it to the biggest private Russian bank Alfa.

Compiled by Spectator staff

Popularity of consumer loans rises

Slovaks are becoming less conservative.

Jana Liptáková

Russia may buy Zuno

THE BIGGEST private bank in Russia, Alfa, may buy Zuno bank, the Czech website Lidovky.cz informed.

Compiled by Spectator staff

Non-banking companies cannot provide loans without licences

NON-BANKING companies without a licence from the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS), the country’s central bank, cannot provide new loans to people as of September 1.

Compiled by Spectator staff

František Imrecze, head of the Financial Administration

Financial Administration published cash-register law violators, broke tax secrecy

TAX officials broke tax secrecy, for the first time in the history of Slovakia.

Compiled by Spectator staff

Draft budget curtails deficit below 2 percent

THE BUDGET deficit should continue decreasing in following three years, according to the first public administration budget draft introduced by the Finance Ministry on July 23.

Radka Minarechová

Tax officers will check J&T Banka

THE FINANCIAL Administration will check the transactions of the J&T Banka after the information co-owner of the J&T Private Equity Group Patrik Tkáč published on a social network.

Compiled by Spectator staff

People are more interested in mortgages.

Low rates boost take-up of mortgages

Interest rates will not increase anytime soon.

Radka Minarechová

Insurance sector profits rise

THE SLOVAK insurance sector had a profit of €179 million last year, according to the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS).

Compiled by Spectator staff

Košičans are closer to ideal financially than Bratislavans

SLOVAKS still do have a bad approach to personal finances, while the financial behaviour differs among the country’s regions.

Compiled by Spectator staff

The security clearance to operate a drone is not needed, the Defence Ministry said.

Insurance sum for drone can be high

THE RISING trend of “flying robots” has several implications, including new types of insurance for damage stemming from the operation of drones.

Compiled by Spectator staff

Car insurance accounts for a significant portion of the insurance market.

Slovak insurance market is stable

THE OUTLOOK for the insurance market in Slovakia remains stable and while car insurance is seeing heightened competition, the launch of payments from the second pension pillar has the potential to alter the market.

Erik Rédli