Advisory

Czech investment incentives target hi-tech firms

Jindra Předotová — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 13:31:44 +0000

The Czech Republic is almost constantly battling against its CEE neighbors to attract large foreign investors for whom government incentives such as tax breaks can be decisive when choosing a location for an investment venture. In given the current economic climate and downturn in investments less-developed regions especially would benefit from large inflows of investment capital.

Chaining of SROs still an issue

Guest Writer — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:34:39 +0000

Now, what does this chaining mean? This means the provision in § 105 para. 2 Commercial Code which was introduced in 2001 and which prohibits a Czech s.r.o. to have as sole shareholder another s.r.o. (or similar legal form if it is a foreign company) with only one shareholder. Despite the almost 11 years of existence by now, thousands of Czech s.r.o.

Employer, beware! Pitfalls of the new Labor Code

Guest Writer — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 09:32:08 +0000

As an employer, you can probably live very well with almost all of the changes January 1, 2012 will bring for the Czech Labor Code.

Will the Czech s.r.o. become more unsafe for creditors?

Guest Writer — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 14:19:04 +0000

The draft Act on Companies, as recently approved by the government, besides other drastic changes reduces the required basic capital of a Czech limited liability company (s.r.o.) from Kč 200,000 to Kč 1. This comes about 10 years after the requirement had been raised from Kč 100,000 to the present Kč 200,000. In 2001, the increase was explained with the need for increased protection for business partners of the s.r.o. Now the basic capital will in many cases be practically zero.

June 30: A day to prepare for

Guest Writer — Mon, 30 May 2011 14:03:40 +0000

June 30 is generally known to be the last date for filing your tax return (and paying income tax) for the prior year if you use a tax adviser or lawyer. Nevertheless, this date has quite a few important implications for corporate law.

Gov’t wants responsible spending: How does the state apparatus fare?

Miloslav Kala — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 07:48:52 +0000

Most OECD countries have started implementing program financing, public project efficiency assessments and multi-year budgeting. The objective behind the introduction of these new techniques is to find ways to efficiently allocate public resources. This new development has not by-passed the Czech Republic [1].

‘Super strategy’? Prudence is in order!

Miloslav Kala — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 08:43:27 +0000

The Ministry of Transport has presented its so-called “super strategy,” which among other things aims to engage the private sector in building the country’s road infrastructure through so-called public-private partnerships (PPPs). Let us have a look whether it is possible to assess the effectiveness of such projects and, if so, what the main weaknesses are of such a solution.

Rent seeking, or gold-digging?

Miloslav Kala — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 08:35:15 +0000

I was inspired to write this article by an SMS: “It’s a good idea to explain corruption and develop a debate. And you should include an assessment of public tenders … – your friend, a.k.a. an expert witness!” One hundred and sixty characters were all that was needed to show how “rent-seeking” works in practice.

Who fights for the state?

Miloslav Kala — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 09:21:10 +0000

If only the walls of official government bureaus and ministries could talk about how the people who are the source of all state authority exercise this power. While looking at a “flying” director, let’s think about abstract constitutional concepts from the point of view of those who are supposed to defend state interests.

How to measure corruption?

Miloslav Kala — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 07:47:49 +0000

Police statistics reveal to us how many murders occurred in a given year, how many cars were broken into or stolen and how many crimes were solved. Even without detailed inquiry, it is evident that the statistics relating to the number of murders are significantly more accurate than the statistics about broken-into automobiles — the aggrieved party often does not report the damage incurred owing to the time requirements and the low confidence in the police’s ability to solve the case.

Stamp tax finally stamped out after two centuries

Guest Writer — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 16:24:03 +0000

Austria abolished the stamp duty for credit and loan agreements on Jan. 1, 2011. The duty — sometimes described as stamp tax — had existed since the times of Maria Theresa in the 18th century. This tax was up to 1.5 percent of the principal of loan if it was a long-term loan and 0.8 percent if the loan was short-term — not a small amount if you think how hard in the area of small fractions interest rates are sometimes negotiated.

What exactly is ‘corruption’?

Miloslav Kala — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 11:26:37 +0000

The state failing to react to serious problems that citizens face used to have — and is still bound to have — grave consequences. Currently, a form of crime defined as “corruption” constitutes such a serious problem. Corruption affects many fields of our public environment.

Czech football fans may benefit from EU opinion

Guest Writer — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 10:22:01 +0000

Football is big business, of course. Recently, FC Liverpool sold its top striker Fernando Torres for a reported $80 million. They didn’t put the money in their bank account or pay off some debts, but spent the money (and some more) by overpaying for two new players. The indebtedness and near-insolvency of some of the best names in European football is notorious and led to new UEFA rules called Financial Fair Play.

Sustainable development: a Czech void

Guest Writer — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 12:53:32 +0000

Decision makers, investors and citizens around the globe are gradually waking up to the fact that global oil production has peaked already and that other fossil fuels are likely to peak during the next two decades. New energy technologies are in the pipeline, but the fundamental lesson is that we have to bring our lifestyle and societies in balance with the natural limitations caused by living on a finite planet.

Zoellick’s daring proposal

Bohumil Studýnka — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 08:53:26 +0000

When recreating a functioning international monetary system that supports prosperity and progress it’s necessary to get back to the roots.The last such system that worked to a certain extent — Bretton Woods (now called BW I) — started to be dismantled in 1971. Gold was gradually abandoned as the only real buffer and sanction against bubbles, wheeler-dealing and collapses. It was President Richard Nixon who in effect ended this arrangement with the closing of the Gold Window on Aug. 15, 1971.