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Taxes, Banking and Finance

Fighting tax fraud and tax evasion – Plans, Commitments and Actions

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Letter to members by Peter Kažimír, Minister of Finance of the Slovak Republic

Tax fraud and tax evasion negatively affect all areas of the social and economic environment. The distortion of competition is the consequence of unfair competitive advantages for some taxpayers arising from tax fraud. The striking impact of tax fraud is reflected in decreasing state revenues resulting in a failure of state to perform tasks in the field of defence, security, health care, social security, education, research and development.

VAT: the main weapon against fraud

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Prepared by AmCham member: DLA PIPER

As of October 1, 2012, the amendment to the VAT Act (hereinafter referred to as the “VAT Act Amendment”) introduced new measures for the elimination of tax evasion and other fraudulent activities. At the same time, as of January 1, 2013, the VAT Act implemented EU directives which, inter alia, provide new invoicing rules to ensure the equal treatment of both physical and electronic invoices.

EU to combat tax evasion

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Prepared by AmCham member: BMB Leitner

During the last several years, which were marked by fiscal consolidation efforts, the prevention of tax fraud and tax evasion has become a hot topic across the wider European Union (EU) including Slovakia.

Is the exercise of a lien on shares (im)possible?

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Prepared by AmCham member: bnt attorneysat-law

Since 1 October 2012, shareholders in limited liability companies have had a new obligation. Slovak natural and legal persons must file a consent form from the tax administrator when registering transfers of majority shares with the Company Register. Consent can only be obtained by persons with no tax arrears. This is meant to prevent excessive VAT deductions and improve payment discipline on the part of Slovak natural and legal persons. The duty does not apply to foreign persons.

The day after tomorrow

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Prepared by AmCham member: CSOB

Employment keeps on going down to dramatic numbers, non-motivated and underpaid teachers (not believing in our teachers, I cannot explain that to my children), an insufficient state budget to slash government deficit below 3% of GDP, economists downgrading Slovak growth estimates, and, above all, leaders who seem to be non-directive in what to do with Slovakia. I seem to enter Slovakia in challenging times. Understatement.

Taxes and competitiveness: are they “joined vessels”?

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Prepared by AmCham member: Lugera & Makler

“In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” (Benjamin Franklin, 1789) A rather sardonic proverb, yet still very true. Since then nothing much has changed. It basically means that we cannot divert the inevitability of paying taxes, nor may we take their amount for granted, as we may might have observed in the latest changes of to our tax legislation.

Red alert! Inbound income tax changes!

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Prepared by AmCham member: Accace

What follows is a brief outline of the major changes that have been introduced in 2013 by the Amendment to the Act on Income Tax, and have negative impact on the Slovak tax payer:

Amendment of the Income Tax Act as of 1.1.2013

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Prepared by AmCham member: IB Grant Thornton Consulting

We would like to bring you an overview of the most important changes in the field of income tax, including examples showing tax impact as of 2013.

Itchy VAT law: can it be soothed by E-Archiving?

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Prepared by AmCham member: BDO Tax

Although VAT is considered a minor issue for financial institutions, the VAT law can be an unpleasant burden as it presents problematic obligations. Recently there have been several positive developments in this area. Let’s have a look at the most important changes.

Slovak transfer pricing rules: inconsistent with EU law?

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Prepared by AmCham member: Dentons Europe CS LLP

In this article, I briefly analyze a potential inconsistency between the transfer pricing rules as defined by Slovak Income Tax Act and principles of law of the European Union (EU), in particular the freedom of establishment stated in Article 49 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and the freedom to provide services pursuant to Article 56 of TFEU.

CFOs want new recruits to be complete finance professionals

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Prepared by AmCham member: ACCA

The need for finance staff to have a broad range of skills and expertise throughout the finance value chain is of prime importance to CFOs. Traditional career routes within the finance function are changing – we are seeing new types of finance roles in shared services or global business service operations.

What would a man do differently?

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Prepared by AmCham member: ACCA

What can facilitate the path to the top of the corporation for women? A range of capabilities and competencies such as knowledge, motivation and networks are needed by all individuals aiming for a top-level position. What makes the success story of Slovak top finance women?

European resources for micro and medium-sized enterprises

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Prepared by AmCham member: Centire

The European Commission and the European Investment Fund have launched a new form of financing using EU Structural Funds. Everything you need to know about the JEREMIE initiative and how it can help your small or medium enterprise is in the following article.

Personal liabilities in a corporate context

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Prepared by AmCham member: Squire Sanders

In the amendment to the Act on Bankruptcy and Restructuring 1 No. 348/2011 Coll. (“Amendment”), important changes have been made to bankruptcy law that regulates those areas which in practice have proven to be problematic or ineffective. This article demonstrates the need to deepen legal and economic supervision by statutory bodies, their members, liquidators of companies, and statutory representatives of companies resulting from the new legal regulations regarding bankruptcy proceedings, which came into force as of January 1, 2013.

R&D Aid in Slovakia

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Prepared by AmCham member: KPMG

One of Slovakia’s targets for 2020 (under Europe 2020) is to increase R&D expenditure from 0.63% of GDP in 2010, to 1% by 2020. One of the tools needed to achieve this ambitious goal is to stimulate investment in the R&D sector. This article provides you with a short overview of some of the options.

Financial transaction tax: not just for banks

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Prepared by AmCham member: Deloitte

On February 14, 2013, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Council Directive implementing enhanced cooperation in the area of Financial Transaction Tax (FTT). This proposal reflects the objectives of the original FTT proposal of September 2011, which previously failed to reach unanimous agreement by all 27 Member States. Nonetheless, eleven Member States (Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia and Slovakia) – the FTT zone – expressed a strong willingness to implement the FTT, and as of January 1, 2014, will have a green light.