Crowdfunding has become increasingly popular over the past decade, yet it has been with us for centuries. The Statue of liberty in New York or the Czech National Theatre are both examples where communities funded an idea or a project. The latest innovation in crowdfunding is equity crowd investing allowing investors to invest in and own a share in privately held companies or real estate. 

On October 4, the AmCham hosted a tax policy roundtable with Stanislav Kouba, a director of Income Tax Department from the Ministry of Finance. Mr Kouba presented tax update on the digital economy, research and development tax allowance and new tax tool – tax data information box (daňová informační schránka). What is a stance of the Czech Republic, particularly the Ministry of Finance, toward taxation of the digital economy? Does the Czech Republic take into account (rather restrained) attitudes of other EU member states? How could the system of tax data information box be enhanced? Is it possible to facilitate procedure of the research project submission in advance to apply for the tax allowance support?  

Indirect taxation is still evolving, and an arguable simple tax is growing in its complexity and application as a traditional goods and services model is replaced with digital content; virtual consumption and seamless international trade flows. But how can you stay ahead?

The financial services sector is at a pivotal point in its evolution. Disruption, new business models, FinTechs, payments, cryptocurrency, cyberthreats, greater collaboration and data legislation are all transforming the sector - and regulators are scrambling to keep up. The sector has made great strides towards digital transformation, but there are still barriers to innovation. How do industry insiders see financial services evolving: which will be the real game-changers, how will the industry transform over the next few years and are institutions and regulators keeping pace?