805471
LEGISLATIVE PROCESS
National union is very active in field of lobbying for better business environment within legislative process in Slovakia.
Areas in which the NUE was active in recent period.
Taxes
Criminal Code
Recycling Fund
Act on Environmental Burden
Act on Lobbing
Act on Public Finance Budget for the year 2006
Act on Waste
Act on Legal Liability of Legal Persons
Act on Concessionary Fees
Act No. 582/2004 Coll. on Local Taxes and Local Charge
NUE opinion:
- necessity to get control over the budget of towns and municipalities into the NUE competence
- set the upper limit of local taxes
The governmental draft law was approved by the National Council of the Slovak Republic at the 42nd session in May 2005 and published in the Collection of Laws under the No. 227/2005.
NUE opinion:
In the approved version of the act, the comments raised by the NUE to the initially submitted draft law have been (besides the motion to exclude the subject-matter of the criminal act Plot and Supporting of Establishment of the criminal and terroristic group) accepted in the substantial extent.
The original philosophy of the NUE remarking procedure has been completed:
- observance of the presumption of innocence;
- elimination of vague formulations;
- exclusion of terms which do not have basis in economic theory nor in economic practice of the Slovak Republic while in the initial draft law constituted the subject-matter of criminal acts;
- exclusion of the collective guilt which enables punishment of innocent people or possibility of purpose abuse.
NUE opinion and activities
- Recycling Fund does not subserve its function resulting from the Act
- NUE representatives in the Administrative Board of the Recycling Fund (SR RF) do not satisfy the NUE vision about the RF performing
- It is necessary to amend the Act on Waste concerning the possibility to recall the Administrative Board of the Recycling Fund (SR RF) members
Due to the need to solve issues from the NUE´s point of view the following materials have been compiled:
- Rules of the Administrative Board of the Recycling Fund (SR RF) on voting procedure of members nominated for institutions into the Administrative Board of the Recycling Fund (SR RF)
- Analysis of the current state of the NUE scope of activities in the RF and proposal of its solution
- Amendment to the Act on Waste
NUE opinion
NEU expressed its disapproval with the upcoming proposal of the Act on Environmental Burden and amendment to the Act of the Slovak National Council No. 145/1995 Coll. on Administrative Charges as later amended.
The reason of disapproval is the strong negative impact on the business environment. The Entrepreneurs Association of Slovakia (ZPS) qualified submitted draft of the act as not enough accurate, within the advance of necessity of social-business practice. In addition it is also possible to interpret it unambiguously which can result into legal indeterminateness in the business environment. The necessity of adoption of this act is also controversial in respect of the fact that such obligation for the SR does not follow from the EU legislation and the reconstruction of the polluted environment is already regulated in special legal enactments regarding environment protection.
NUE opinion
NUE in cooperation with the Confederation of Trade Union (KOZ) expressed principal disapproval with upcoming Act of Lobbing:
- Legal status and subject field of associations is determined in international documents which take precedence over the Slovak legal enactments as well as over the Slovak Constitution
- Provisions of the Act of Lobbing constitute legal restrictions of associations on economic and social interests protection and their scope of activities
- Provisions of draft of the Act are contrary to the general legal environment which was formed in EU for a long period and the status of the employer organizations as a respectable social partner is fully independent and respected.
Act on Public Finance Budget for the year 2006
NUE opinion
NUE does not have any substantial objections to the draft law. NUE regards the proposal of the public finance budget as the continuity of the existing evolution. Despite that the NUE recommends from the fundamental point of employers´ view regarding the state budget the following:
- more radical decreasing of public finance deficit and government cost sharings in economy
- to make use of the time period of significant economic growth for more ambitious and more radical reforms and measures
- to decrease the reallocation rate in the economy substantially
- to cease the government efforts to finance its programme priorities through obtaining of satisfactory sources from population or from enterprises but attain them through savings in other budgetary expenses – to decrease or abolish some of the costs and institutions (Environmental Fund, Recycling Fund, etc.)
- to use state reserves mainly on decreasing of state debt, tax and payment duty, financing of the retirement reform expenses
- to implement tools for measuring of efficiency of public.
NUE opinion
NUE after being acquainted with the parliamentary proposal of the indirect amendment to the Act No. 223/2001 Coll. on Waste by force of the Act on Air Protection predicates disapproval with the content of the amendment as well as with the manner in which it should be adopted by the Slovak National Council.
The amendment proposes the increase of the contributions – penalties for nonfulfilment of the discharge limits into the Recycling Fund which may amount more than SKK 1 billion a year. The penalty for nonfulfilment of the discharge limits into the Recycling Fund shall be for whole volume of production and import of electric facilities, in comparison to the current state when such penalty is only for the difference between the limit and the real amount of the electro-waste.
The amendment adoption would mean the substantial change of conditions of financing of disposal with electro-waste which would burden the producers and importers of electric facilities. It would also mean an inadequate intervention into the market which would result into price rise of electrical appliances, for example the price of a washing machine would increase by SKK 1.200, a refrigerator by SKK 1540 and a TV-set by SKK 750.
We consider as inadmissible also the fact that the amendment orders to use in preference processing capacities in the SR for recycling and that is in spite of almost double prices in comparison with the price bids abroad.
NUE has reservations about the fact that the amendment proposal was prepared without any public discussion with those persons who would be mostly concerned and we consider this amendment as pointless whereas the Ministry of Environment of the Slovak Republic is currently preparing the amendment to the Act on Waste in participation with all involved subjects.
NUE expects that this inconceptual amendment would not be with regard to the serious imperfections and objections of the professional community approved by the members of the Slovak National Council.
Act on Legal Liability of Legal Persons
NUE opinion:
NUE disagrees with the proposed act. NUE considers this initiative proposal of the Act on Legal Liability of Legal Persons, prepared by the Ministry of Justice of the Slovak Republic, as repeated attempt to enforce legal liability of legal persons.
Main reasons:
- Proposed form of the legal liability of legal persons is in the contrary with the fundamental principle of the legal state and that is in equity before the law whilst without any reasonably justification prefers political parties, municipalities, higher territorial units and public authorities.
- The draft law does not solve the problem of double punishment of legal persons for the same criminal act. But such procedure is inconsistent with the fundamental principle of the criminal law that nobody can be double punished for the same criminal act. As far as the adoption of the legal liability of legal persons is concerned it shall be necessary, due to the reason of avoidance of double punishment, to accept amendments to several legal attitudes which can last several years. The NUE considers such state of uncertainty as unacceptable.
- No international legal act imposes the obligation to the Slovak Republic to adopt the legal liability of legal persons, not even for defined range of criminal acts.
- The assumption that in case of adoption of the legal liability of legal persons the inflow of foreign capital would significantly decrease seems to be reasonable.
- The serious danger is the possibility of abuse of institute of the legal liability of legal persons as a tool of competitive fight.
NUE opinion
Pursuant to the above mentioned the NUE expresses its disapproval with adoption of proposed amendment to the Act No. 212/1995 Coll. on Concessionary Fees which allows the amount of fines for fee dodgers accordingly to the amount of very concessionary fees and at the same time exempts owners of mobile telephones and computers from concessionary fees payment as an allowance for making enable receiving of radio and television broadcasting.
On the February meeting of the Slovak National Council the Slovak National Council except other legislative laws negotiated and on the second reading also approved amending and supplementing proposal to the Act No. 212/1995 Coll. on Concessionary Fees.
The purpose of the amendment to the act is first of all to judge and legislatively solve the ongoing problems with concessionary fees dodgers but also to respond to capabilities of some modern telecommunication facilities (mobile telephone and personal computer) to receive and reproduce radio or television channel broadcasting through radio and television transmitters.
The Slovak Broadcasting Corporation has interpreted the so far valid law in the way that the obligation to pay concessionary fees refers also to the fees for mobile telephone. Owners of mobile telephones must also pay the concessionary fees for listening to the state-owned radio station. If the mobile telephone is capable to receive broadcasting stations it could be considered as the radio receiver and it is charged in Slovakia by monthly fee of SKK 40.
In case of the full-area charge for mobile telephones and computers regardless of their purpose and true utilization for legal persons and for self-employed persons (SZÈO) employing several employees, it has caused an inadequate and inequitable finance burden.
Therefore the NUE initiated and prepared in cooperation with submitters of the amendment to the act the supplementing amendment to the Act on Concessionary Fees which reflected to the latest technological progress whereas during the time of adopting of the actual wording of the act there was no possibility to receive radio and television broadcasting through the mobile telephones and computers.