The Chamber of Deputies approved the draft Act on 2012 State Budget on December 14. Click here for details.
The draft amendment to the Act on Banks had its first reading in the Chamber of Deputies on December 13. The Chamber Committees will debate the bill in January 2012. The bill introduces changes in the access to branches of foreign banks operating outside the EU/EEA area, and related technical improvements. Click here for details.
The Chamber of Deputies accepted the EU’s Draft Directive on Financial Transaction Tax /bill 540-E/ at its session on December 8.
The Senate returned the draft Amendment to the Public Procurement Act to the Chamber of Deputies at its session on December 14. The Chamber of Deputies will vote on the bill in January 2012. Among the most significant improvements are the obligation to disclose contracts, real costs/final prices, and all documents and information related to the tendering process (excl. given exemptions), for example. The tendering agency will be obliged to justify each procurement and the scope of procurements that have to be processed according to the Public Procurement Act will be extended. The amendment also introduces rules related to ownership structure of tender winners and subcontractors. Click here for details.
The Senate has returned the so-called JIM/the Single Collection Point bill and amendments to related laws, including the Income Tax Act, Acts on Health, Sickness and Pension Insurance, for example, to the Chamber of Deputies with changing proposals. The Chamber will vote on the bill in January 2012. The stated intent of the tax reform is to increase effectiveness of public finance and increase the state budget revenues by 1. reducing direct taxation (taxation of labor) and increasing indirect taxation (VAT and excise tax); i.e. use VAT tax revenues to finance the planned pension reform, and 2. making the Czech tax system more transparent and user-friendly (this means cutting the number of tax exemptions, for example). Click here for details.
The draft amendment to the Act on Investment Incentives drafted by the Ministry of Industry and Trade is now in the first reading in the Chamber of Deputies. The draft proposal includes changes in the current system of incentives for the manufacturing sector and introduces incentives in the areas of technology centers and centers of strategic services. Investors could be granted income tax / corporate tax breaks for ten years instead of the current five. The bil will be discussed by the Chamber’s Economic Committee on January 22, 2012. Click here for details.
The draft Act on Criminal Liability of Corporations (click here, amendments to related acts here) was approved by the Chamber of Deputies at its session on December 4. This vote has overriden a presidential veto. The bill includes a list of around 80 violations of law corporations can be sanctioned for, however, the list does not include economic criminal activity such as ‘tunneling’, breaches of law in the area of public procurement, horizontal cartel agreements, cross-border trade with military material and state-controlled technologies. There is also no provision on Leniency Program.
The issue of Concurrence of Employment and Statutory Body Membership is dealt with within the Amendment to the Commercial Code. Members of Boards of Directors or Supervisory Boards, besides having a mandate contract, could be officially allowed to have also an employment contract. The Ministry of Justice has proposed an amendment to the Commercial Code that would explicitly allow for the duality. For detials click here. Amendments to other relevant acts were also proposed by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs with the aim to make employees and statutory body members equal in terms of contributing to the pension and sickness insurance systems. The bills were approved by the Senate and sent to the President. Click here for details.
The new Civil Code draft act will be now debated in the Senate. The aim of the new Civil Code is to unify a rather fragmented civil law (new law will replace current Civil Code, part of the Commercial Code, part of the Labor Code) and make it more user-friendly. Major changes are expected in legal terminology; new legal instruments will be introduced; the freedom of contract is stressed. The adoption of a new Civil Code means new amendments to a wide range of acts, including Labor Code or tax legislation. Click here for details.
The Chamber of Deputies passed the Act on Corporations draft; the bill is now heading to the Senate. The new Act on Corporations should replace the current regulation of companies / corporations under the Czech Commercial Code and better define the process of their establishment and operations. No major changes of regulation are expected, although there are exceptions: corporate governance (including liability / responsibility of statutory bodies), regulation of holdings and capital companies (limited liability companies and joint stock companies). Click here for details.
The Senate approved the draft Amendment to the Act on Employment that, among others, introduces sanctions for illegal employment and an explicit ban on exercise of dependent work by the self-employed (on a civil/commercial contract). Click here for details.