The business environment in Slovakia continued to worsen in late 2017 when firms complained about staff shortages, extensive red tape, and poor quality legislation. In the fourth quarter of 2017, the business environment deteriorated significantly when the business environment index of the Business Alliance of Slovakia (PAS) fell by 2.2 percent from the last survey to 47.5 points, executive Director of the Business Alliance of Slovakia (PAS) Peter Kremský informed on February 15.
The indicator for Comprehensibility, Applicability and Stability of Legislative Rules recorded the deepest fall from the previous survey. The business environment suffers most from a lack of workforce, while as far as legislative rules are concerned, entrepreneurs are most critical about the amendment to the accounting law, said Kremský as cited by the SITA newswire.
Conversely, businesses in the last quarter of 2017 positively assessed the amendment to the Commercial Code to prevent unfair mergers, as well as the amendment to the Value Added Tax Act aimed at accelerating the payout of VAT refunds and boosting their control and transparency. Businesses also positively evaluate the latest legislation to reduce red tape and the still more intensive introduction of digitalisation in tax administration.